Cloudy, with a Chance of Freedom
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: When Skull died in the Future that Never Was, he was sent back farther than Yuni could have intended. Armed with a second chance to make things at little better, he slips into a role he had almost forgotten... that of Harry Potter. However some bonds once forged can't be broken so easily, leading him to the other Arcobaleno before they were known as great. Can he change their fates
1. Chapter 1

It had been quite the shock when, as Skull had died in that future that now would never be, he found themselves shunted not into his Arcobaleno self, but that of the seven year old boy he had been when he had first activated his Flames. That moment when the sheer desire to live sparked his Cloud Flames to keep propagating his blood until the bleeding _stopped,_ when his body first learned the ability to internalize his Cloud flames to _keep him alive_.

Skull had existed for far longer than Harry. Had seen far more of what the world had to offer. Where Harry survived, Skull had actually _lived_.

And if this truly _was_ a second chance. A way to put a lot of the wrong things right, then he was going to seize it with both hands and not look back, even if it meant losing everything he had 'gained' the first time around.

Skull had long since come to terms with the knowledge that if he had to give _everything_ up, he would not hesitate. There had been so much needless loss and pain because of Dumbledore and his inaction, so much death because he was too afraid to do what was _necessary_ to end a threat once and for all.

He was a Cloud that everyone mistook for Inverted because he was loud and had the patience of a saint when tested. They saw, but did not understand that his natural instincts had been flipped entirely due to his upbringing and the fact he was never allowed to be who he truly was.

Clouds were possessive, territorial bastards who raged whenever what was _theirs_ was threatened or taken from them. "Harry" had nothing, was never allowed to claim anything as his and only his, and was expected to share everything regardless of how he had felt about the matter. He was little more than "public property" in the eyes of the European Magical enclaves, and thus was to be kept in a gilded cage.

So it was little wonder that Harry took a step back and went to sleep, allowing Skull to take his place.

First things first... he would have to get rid of the rather poor excuse of a 'minder' in the neighborhood before he could do anything. He _knew_ that senile squib was the reason why he had been stuck there, as she reported everything to the old man.

It had taken him a night's tireless work to find the ward stone that anchored the rather pathetic wards around the home, and slowly, methodically, rewire it so that all the alarms go to him first. Blood wards are tricky, but would fall easily enough once he was _rejected_ as blood kin by the horse-faced bitch and her fat pig of a son. He wouldn't mourn their loss, even as he discovered with some glee that Vernon apparently had ties to the mafia, and not one of the good ones.

Mafia connections means he doesn't have to be as _careful_ when he wipes the Dursleys out, or the adults anyway. Dudley was still a child, and all Skull would have to do is wipe most of his memories and make it look like the trauma or a good hit to the head had given him amnesia to give the boy a clean slate to work with. Most of his behavior came from his parents being complete imbeciles who wouldn't know how to raise a _flobberworm_ , much less a child. If they had given him even an iota of discipline then his behavior wouldn't have been so deplorable, never mind the health issues he had from being obese and eating all that junk every day in large quantities.

Really, Skull was doing him a favor long term, even if Dudley likely wouldn't see it that way once he was finished.

Mrs. Figg was pathetically easy to dispose of in a way that Dumbledore couldn't help her with. She was too busy trying to keep as many of her precious kneazles and cats to think of asking Dumbledore for help or notice what "Harry" was doing, never mind that it was the same boy who had set that Animal Welfare group on her on _top_ of unleashing the darker side of Surrey's gossip circles regarding how she paid for her house and bills.

A single hint of a 'cat mill' was enough to send the senile squib out of Surrey, and by the time she realized there was no way she was getting her cats back he would be long gone.

Next came Vernon and Petunia. He vaguely recalled a class trip to London, and a little magic convinced the fat bastard to sign the slip and pay the small fee for him to go with Dudley.

It's easy to slip away from the class, the teachers too busy dealing with an irate Dudley over the fact his ice cream doesn't have the desired amount of chocolate to it and the vendor is wisely loathe to give him another for free.

Skull finds the English underworld with the ease of someone who had been there before. And, thanks to the fact no one is expecting "Harry Potter" to show up at Gringotts so soon, no one is any the wiser that he is using a backdoor into his many, many vaults.

Namely the fact he is using the Peverell vaults instead of the Potter or Black, which were almost certainly watched for any unusual transactions. The goblins were more than happy to audit the vaults...specifically the Potter-owned ones... in an effort to cut all funding to the Dursleys as well as any transactions made in his name without any actual approval.

Goblin audits took months, if not _years_ to clear up and made things needlessly difficult for any witch or wizard trying to access their precious gold. Most wizards had never even _heard_ of the concept of 'receipts', much less bothered to do their own accounting. They trusted the goblins to do all the money pinching unless they were relatively poor like the Weasleys were.

Which meant the Dursleys would have to provide actual _proof_ that they were using the funds sent to their account every month on his upkeep. Proof Skull knew damn well didn't exist.

Vernon would find his fat bank account gouged by the less than amused new blood (muggleborn) accountants hired by the goblins to act as their go between in the non-magical side of things. Skull easily avoided the house, only making a token appearance long enough to keep the rapidly decaying blood wards from falling completely.

It was with vindictive glee that Skull learns of the hit placed on Vernon and his family as a warning to the others who follow the fat pig.

The Vindice weren't likely to bother looking into who actually claimed the bounty on the bastard with an active contract on his head.

Vernon and Petunia are found dead, two days after their murder. Skull left Dudley in an orphanage with very little if any memory of who he was or who his parents were, with an obvious head wound that would explain the amnesia.

In a way, Skull is rather grateful to that bastard in the Iron Hat. If not for the fact he had been stuck for thirty years as a toddler-sized man, he never would have picked up the skills needed to bluff his way into getting an ID and passport under his preferred nom de plume using the money he got from killing Vernon.

With Dudley 'missing', Vernon and Petunia very much dead and not likely to bother him again, Skull de Mort disappeared into the mists.

* * *

Skull was rather pleased with himself. Not only was he actually going to _enjoy_ his childhood for once, but it was becoming increasingly unlikely that anyone would bother him with their 'well meaning intentions'.

The irony being that everyone assumed him to be a midget (in the non-magical world) thanks to his quick thinking and acting skills, or had recently suffered either a potions accident or had goblin ancestry that forced him to go through his magical majority a second time.

So it was with great shock and disbelief when, while in Italy, he stumbles across a familiar face on a child both older and younger than he remembered seeing.

Seeing the great Reborn scouring the trash cans for food after his mother's death, when he failed to complete a hit because of what he considered weakness... it was a major shock.

It was the Cloud who shielded the Sun from view when things got to be too much. It was the Cloud who stirred the Storm, Rain and Lightning into action when their Sky was threatened. It was the Cloud who provided the Rain that created the Mists that drifted along the ground.

Black eyes met startled emerald.

Skull, being a survivor by nature and a total softie when it came to children who genuinely needed help, doesn't even think twice.

He disappeared for a few minutes, before coming back with some cheap sandwiches from the local coffee shop and a cop of proper hot chocolate. It's not yet full winter, but the autumn winds are no less cold, especially in Venice where the water makes things that much worse.

Reborn scowls at him and says with stubborn pride "I don't accept charity."

"It's not charity. It's incentive to do me a favor later when I need it," countered Skull without hesitation. "I help you out now and you'll be inclined to give me a place to crash later when I actually need it. Besides, I know far too well what it's like to be so hungry for food that I'd happily go dumpster diving for something to fill my stomach, even if the food is expired or moldy."

Reborn gives him a long, hard look...and reluctantly accepted the sandwiches. It was pretty clear he wasn't used to going hungry and had never truly learned the same lessons all street kids did if they wanted to actually _survive_.

Skull gently rubs his back while giving him the same tips he learned the hard way.

"Small bites, and don't eat it all at once or you'll get sick later. If you eat slowly then your stomach has a chance to expand and you'll fill it up to the point where you can save the rest for later. And avoid the grates where the heat comes up... a lot of people get burns from those because they fall asleep and don't realize the danger until after the fact. Infections and burns hurt like hell," said Skull.

Seeing Reborn slow down in eating and actually _listen_ was startling. A small seed of trust was beginning to form, and Skull could only wonder if it would last the cold, hard years that was to come later.

Skull quietly coaches Renato in how to spot the magically trained birds that could carry letters. Shows the boy he knew all too well would become the World's Greatest Hit Man in how to coach said birds to him in order to deliver a message. Shows the _child_ who had yet to complete a proper hit how to blend in, to be able to walk away from the scene of a crime without drawing suspicion to himself and disappear into the background to avoid the many, many gangs who would eat the Strongest Sun alive if they caught him.

It was somewhat surreal, being the one to teach Renato the little things that would make him one of the most devastating hit men alive... but Skull is a Cloud and he wasn't about to let the petty 'crimes' committed against him by his Reborn taint the image of the unsure and untested child before him.

Seeing Renato make his first successful hit and the subsequent break down at the loss of innocence, it was heartbreaking. However Renato comes out of it with a resolve and a drive to be the _best_ , to survive in a world that was already predisposed against him because of something his father did and the fact his mother was long gone.

It was a bit shocking that Skull walked away from Venice with the knowledge that he had won over a boy who would become the World's Greatest Hit Man and the Strongest Sun alive.

On an unrelated note, Skull was rather amused that _he_ was the source of why Reborn always wore that ridiculous hat of his. Handing that tiny Sun the fedora to keep the rain out of his eyes had caused a habit that would stick with Renato for _life_.

(That loyalty would only be cemented the day Skull raged at the Family who took offense to the fact Renato was so much stronger than their Sky and was smart enough to refuse their invitation. Seeing that head of purple hair fighting grown men and _winning_ , all for the sake of someone he barely knew was something that would stay with Renato for the rest of his life.)

* * *

Skull wanted to groan in exasperation, because of course things wouldn't be that simple. It was only instinctive that he look for the familiar feel of their Flames, to lean on them without even thinking twice about it and knowing they would have his back.

Seeing the cold and beaten form of Viper, Skull gently coaxed her to a safe house that was technically Black family property. Safe from the thugs who targeted the tiny Mist that saw too much and heard even more.

Viper quietly whimpered as Skull gently bandaged her bruised and bleeding form without a word. There was no expression of pity, just a quiet empathy. He said nothing as he made a quick meal and shared it with her...unlike Renato she had the sense to eat slowly and allow her stomach to expand.

It wasn't until she found a familiar family crest that she stiffened.

"You're a Black," she said quietly.

Skull looked her dead in the eye.

"I'm the heir of the Ancient and Noble house of Black. The current head is still stuck in Azkaban because it's too soon to free him."

While it hurt, knowing Sirius was suffering the Dementors, the thing that stayed Skull's hand was the fact that there was very little he could do at this moment to get him out without exposing the fact he was no longer with the Dursleys. He had spent far too long and spent too much effort to cover his trail to blow everything by freeing his godfather. That and the knowledge Sirius _survived_ because he knew damn well he was innocent of the crime They claimed he had committed on the Potters until he broke free the moment he had a proper lead on the real culprit kept him from doing anything.

Viper quietly sipped the strawberry milk Skull had given her.

"Why are you helping me? I'm nothing more than a squib. Less than worthless and barely above a muggleborn."

Skull looked her in the eye and said with conviction "You're still _family_. Regardless of whether you can use magic or not, I won't let my own blood suffer. You have every right to call yourself a Black that the full magicals do, and I don't care what people say about the matter. Most new bloods come from squib bloodlines anyway... it's just that the inbreeding problem has gotten so bad that their magical pathways come out damaged."

Viper looked at him, realized he was telling the truth and relaxed.

"And if the adults don't like the fact that I'm reclaiming you, well I have no problem with you claiming the Potter name instead."

Viper stiffened in shock, before she looked at him with wide eyes and registered the scar hidden under his fringe. Realizing that Harry _Potter_ was claiming her as family, despite her inability to use traditional magic shook her to the core.

Mists were ground-based Clouds. The two were so much alike that they either fought like cats and dogs, or they were a well-meshed unit that were nearly impossible to fight against.

Viper wants to cry. She doesn't even think of holding back this instinct when Skull hugs her.

"Welcome home," he whispered into her ear.

Another link in the chain falls into place as he leaves that city, handing over control of the home and the house elves attached to it to a grateful Viper.

Inwardly he wonders if this was going to be a pattern, this gathering of the Arcobaleno before their names are even a whisper across the minds of the Cosa Nostra. Before they become great enough to draw out that fake god out of hiding long enough for the Arcobaleno curse to be applied.

Either way, Viper is more than happy to act as Skull's eyes and ears in the magical enclaves, as he had helped to awaken their Mist flames long enough to mimic magic. With a proper outlet for their core, Viper is well and truly terrifying...but would be utterly loyal to Skull for life so long as he reciprocates in return. After all, Skull was more than happy to help Viper show the fools who cast her out because of her 'lack of magic' just how deadly she could be, even going so far as to help pay for lessons that would allow her to claim the title of "hedgewitch" and at least be able to hold her head up high against the more uptight pure bloods.


	2. Chapter 2

Skull expected many things. Seeing the hellion that was a younger Fon was not one of them and he is rather gleefully in committing this sight to memory to get blackmail later on the smiling Storm. Then Fon sees the grin on Skull's face and scowls, looking so much like a younger, stormier Hibari Kyouya that it's positively _hilarious._

It is the Clouds that stir the Storm into action, which spurs on the Rain and Lightning. So it's only natural that Skull impishly does something to piss off Fon by swiping his snack when he wasn't expecting it and getting the young Storm to chase him.

Skull is rather proud he had committed all the moves Fon's older self had taught him into muscle memory as a way to escape the nightmares. It means he is more than a match for the increasingly irate Storm who thinks his limited martial arts gives him the upper hand against a 'mere thief'.

Seeing Fon seething on the ground with his face in the dirt after Skull cheerfully kicked his ass was hilarious. The fact Fon's sensei had evidently figured out what the purple haired boy was doing and allowed it, even more so.

Fon glared at him, and Skull grinned.

"There's always a bigger fish," he quoted, grinning with his hands behind his head. "And when it comes to martial arts, mastery is little more than an illusion that keeps you from achieving your full potential. Way too many people decide that achieving a black belt is enough and don't bother to push themselves to _learn_ everything they can to be the best."

Fon takes a calming breath and realizes the wisdom in the words of the youth who had beaten him so easily. He had been lax in his training, he saw that much now.

"Besides, I've yet to find a style that is so strong that it's impossible to beat every time. Better to diversify, so that you can remain unpredictable like the unrelenting hurricanes and tempests."

Seeing the approving look on Fon's teacher and the thoughtful one on the Storm, Skull inwardly chalked it up to a victory. Especially when, after Fon got over his humiliation of being beaten by a complete stranger (a _foreigner_ no less), he quietly asked how to contact Skull.

His clan was always praising his accomplishments without ever truly pushing him to be better. They acted as though his skills and dedication to the arts were enough as they were, rather than convincing him he could be so much _better_.

This foreigner with the strange hair had _beaten_ him with ridiculous ease, but cared enough to give him advice that his shifu agreed with wholeheartedly.

Later, Fon would come to appreciate the amusement that came from being the calm "Eye of the Storm" as he watched grown men and women lose control in the face of his serene mask, even if his Flames were inwardly raging.

Skull is rather pleased with the stunt, even as he continues his world tour, stumbling over his lanky form along the way. He still had two more years before those letters were sent and he had to decide whether it was worth pretending to be "downtrodden and overwhelmed" Harry Potter that Dumbledore was almost certainly expecting.

There was no way in _hell_ Dumbledore was _that_ ignorant to the way the Dursleys treated him. The old bastard openly admitted to the fact he had "reluctantly" molded the child everyone considered his protege into a bloody martyr because of some half-assed prophecy that only came true because the old bastard and the hypocrite actually believed in that crap.

He could continue as he had been, wandering the world freely as a drifting Cloud.

But that would only alert the old goat to the fact that "Harry" was no longer under his 'careful watch', being discreetly turned into a weapon against Riddle.

Besides, last time he had barely scratched the surface of the Hogwarts library and he had long since learned how to get past the wards on the Restricted section before the war had ended. Once he had his invisibility cloak back, he was going to hit that section _hard_.

First though, he really needed to track down Verde. Hermione was alright, but he had always wanted to introduce her to someone who was her intellectual equal before their friendship permanently soured. Perhaps having a girlfriend who could actually keep up with him would mellow Verde out.

Skull wondered if it was petty of him that he was _looking forward_ to Snape and his casual use of Legilmency on students. Skull intended to show that bastard _exactly_ what he was dealing with and give him a warning that it was a bad idea to mess with a man that was so stubborn that death itself rejected him ever entering it's realm.

He had spent far too much time modifying and learning the ins and outs of the fidelius charm to the point he could literally cast it in his _sleep_. There was no way Dumbledore was going to find out until the last second that the 'pawn' he had been molding was a far more dangerous opponent than Riddle had ever been at his worst.

It took Skull a few hours to realized he was completely and utterly lost. And considering the storm that was about to break over him, he cut his losses and set up his tent in a grove, anchoring it firmly so that he wouldn't end up losing the closest thing he had to a home.

He couldn't _wait_ until he was big enough to be able to drive properly without assistance. As it was adults barely believed his cover story of being someone who suffered from dwarfism and that was only because he was so used to taking care of himself that he naturally acted far older than he looked.

The irony was that he was far taller and in better shape than the last time around, all because he had permanently taken out the Dursleys and left England far behind.

The storm was particularly vicious outside, and Skull was more than happy to sleep through it. Or he would have if not for the insistent sound of a _bird_ in his tent.

He opened up a tired green eye to glare at the intruder. In the dark of the night light by lightning, the avian resembled a phoenix, except the coloring was all wrong.

Then again, he had only met _one_ phoenix and it was entirely likely that this was an Asian variant of the mythical bird that lit itself on fire.

"If you bother me I will pull out every one of your damn feathers, you annoying self-roasting chicken," he threatened, rolling over and going back to sleep.

That got him an annoyed peck from a less-than-amused phoenix. Skull squawked indignantly, before putting on his glasses as he was in no mood to put his contacts back in.

Definitely a phoenix, though not one he had ever seen before. It had a really weird tail that came in five different colors and the shape was slightly off. There was a weird sense of _judgment_ from the thing before it cooed and took a spot on the headboard to sleep.

Almost like it was testing to see if he was worthy of being in it's presence.

Skull rolled his eyes, as this wasn't even in the top _five_ of the weirdest shit to happen to him involving magical animals. He had a firm policy of "not my problem" so long as the damn things weren't trying to maim, kill or otherwise eat him.

A practice that had stood him in good stead and ironically won him a rather amusing pen pal in the form of Newt Scamander because he didn't even bat an eye at the "terrifying" animals the mythozoologist had in his case.

Newt was all too happy to share theories with Skull over the weird things he kept stumbling across... or showing up unexpectedly to observe said animals in their natural habitat.

At least _someone_ got use out of Potter Luck and the way it kept dropping him in the most bizarre situations.

And people wondered why Skull could translate Luna-speak like it was second nature.

Speaking of Luna, he really needed to owl her once he was back in England. He knew the poor girl was probably bored out of her mind with the narrow-minded idiots that made up most of the English enclave and their inability to _see_.

* * *

 _Some time later..._

The phoenix who had apparently adopted him for some weird reason he wasn't going to bother looking into had an aversion to people that was actually rather impressive. That or it knew something he didn't, which was entirely possible.

Either way it took him a week to find a name for the damn thing that wouldn't get him pecked rather viciously by the bird.

Larkspur, which in the Victorian flower language meant "beautiful spirit". Officially the bird's name was shortened to Lark though.

Skull was a bit annoyed at the fact he had been unable to find Verde in the self-imposed deadline he had given himself, but decided to cut his losses.

He could always send Hedwig (and didn't that send a thrill of excitement, knowing he could have his beloved owl back) after the Lightning before introducing the genius to Hermione.

On an unrelated note, he did finally find out what the hell the phoenix-like pest that refused to leave was called.

Fon nearly had a heart attack when he saw the pest, and if his reaction was surprising it was nothing compared to the way the Storm's clan had reacted.

Apparently Skull had been adopted by a "Feng-Huang", which meant anyone of Asian descent who had even a vague idea of what the bird symbolized would treat him like _Dumbledore_ after he adopted Fawkes as a symbol.

The bird was _very_ picky about who it chose to be around, and the fact it had clearly adopted Skull to the point it gave as good as it got when he got into a mock-argument with the bird (which was had given Fon quite a shock before he realized there was no actual heat in the barbs Skull threw at the avian) said _volumes_ about his character.

Fon had been very amused when, upon hearing what having this particular bird around meant, Skull had groaned loudly before banging his head lightly on the table.

"I swear my family was hit with the ancient Chinese curse of 'May you live in interesting times'. That or some god decided to 'bless' us with bizarre luck," he said exasperated.

Fon hid his grin behind his sleeve. Despite their rather...rough... first meeting, he found "Skull" a breath of fresh air because he was genuinely honest and didn't give one whit about politics, status or fame. The fact that Skull didn't have a problem acting as his sparring partner was just bonus.

"So basically the overgrown rooster is a symbol that says I'm a good person," said Skull, barely dodging the annoyed peck from the bird in question.

"That and you're a natural ruler," said Fon. "By the way, you were right...seeing people lose their cool while maintaining a mask is absolutely _hilarious_."

Skull grinned at him.

"Best of all people tend to look at _you_ favorably while chiding the one who lost their temper against a kid," said Skull snickering. "Not to mention it gives you plenty of practice with having a good poker face, so you can fleece a large number of idiots out of their money at cards."

Fon blinked.

"Wouldn't that only drive the Feng-Huang away?"

"I'm not doing it out of greed or ambition. I do it because people annoy me and I get bored. Besides, half the time I tend to give the money I won away to kids in the slums who need the extra help or use it to buy food that I then share. I know what it's like to go hungry," shrugged Skull.

Fleecing people out of their money wasn't exactly _nice,_ but Skull never did it out of greed or to hurt others. He had enough money to live off of already, and he would rather use it to help others than hoard it for no other reason than he liked shiny things.

Fon snickered at that. And then a hopeful look crossed his face.

"If it's possible, would you mind sending me letters?"

"Sure!" said Skull enthusiastically. "Might have to use the puffed up chicken to send them...and give your relatives heart attacks from seeing it delivering a letter... but I don't mind at all!"

Fon grinned with open relief. He had found himself with the disquieting revelation that he had no real friends, only friendly acquaintances after several of them had made disparaging remarks about his new dedication to martial arts. They were all such _children_ that it was an unpleasant surprise.

Skull was different. He _wanted_ him to be the best and wasn't afraid to encourage him to try new things and broaden his horizons.

"So where are you heading to next?" asked Fon.

"England. The letters are about due to be sent out soon and it's less annoying to pretend I'm still where I'm supposed to be rather than deal with adults who should learn to mind their own business."

Fon frowned a bit at that.

"You make it sound like someone is trying to control you."

"No, just a senile old idiot who thinks he knows best without looking at the situation from all the angles and doesn't have anyone who can tell him 'no' and not get snowed under. He's too well connected and it's easier to play on what he's expecting than give him a much needed dose of reality. Not this early anyway," shrugged Skull.

Fon ran that through his head. From the way Skull had phrased that, it sounded like he was trying to hide under the radar from _Dumbledore_. He had already known the other boy was a magical... his core was too strong for him to successfully hide, especially from someone as sensitive to such things as Fon was.

"Why would you need to hide from Dumbledore though?"

Skull choked on his tea. Fon smirked at him.

Once he cleared his throat, he mock glared at Fon. Then he quietly lifted his bangs and let Fon get a good long look at the scar on his forehead which had more or less healed by this point. Now it was Fon's turn to choke on his tea.

"The senile old man dumped me with magic hating relatives. Too bad for him I'm more of a Black than a Potter. So long as he doesn't get a new watcher on the neighborhood he'll have no idea that I slipped the cage he threw me in when my parents died. I very nearly became an Obscurial because of those people," said Skull scowling.

Fon winced, hearing that.

Obscurials were terrifying and saddening, because they only came into being when a magical child is so desperate to push down their gifts that it turned and became an angry, sentient thing that went on destructive rampages when threatened. They were nearly _impossible_ to deal with and by the time they were found it was almost always too late to do anything that would save the child. They were also a complete nightmare to fight, as they could take a lot of damage and do far worse when threatened.

Fon had a look of utter sympathy on his face realizing _who_ was sitting across from him politely at the table and why it had been so necessary for the other boy to create a new identity just to fly under the radar. The fact he had successfully fooled adults everywhere into believing he was actually an adult who suffered from a condition that most people derogatorily called "midgets" (or in the rare case of the magical enclaves, that he had suffered a very annoying one-in-a-thousand potions accident that left him to suffer puberty and magical maturation _twice_ ) said far too much about his upbringing.

Normal almost eleven-year-olds should _not_ be able to fake being older than they actually were that they got well meaning adults to back off in embarrassment for mistaking him as a child.

Fon had seen that happen repeatedly while hanging out with Skull, and had to fight the urge to laugh until his sides hurt at the mortified look of adults (mostly women) who "mistook" Skull as an adorable foreign child out with a friend. His developing skill of maintaining his serene mask was sorely tested during those moments, if only for the hilarity of the fact they had no idea Skull really _was_ a child.

If this was what Harry Potter was actually like, the Fon was rather eager to see the waves he would create once he was "properly" brought back to the English magical enclaves.


	3. Chapter 3

Skull took one look at the letter and smirked.

He knew making a detour to Privet Drive and hiding in his old 'home' (which had been discreetly bought by the goblins to keep up the ruse) would make the entire thing worth it. Even if he had to stay in the cupboard until that damn letter came.

Convincing Hagrid that his relatives had opted to 'spend the day in London' since they _really_ didn't like magic was tragically easy, even if he hated having to lie to the man. Hagrid couldn't keep a secret to save his life, especially if the one asking was Albus bloody Dumbledore.

The entire trip was a total nightmare like the first time. Though at least the goblins had 'cleared' his trust vault from their audit, so Hagrid had zero idea that there was anything wrong with the key he had.

Playing the "quietly awed but still impressionable" Harry Potter was tiring. He much preferred to be Skull de Mort, the Immortal Stuntman.

He put up with it, before he 'calmly' mentioned to Hagrid that his relatives had called him the night before to say they were going to be visiting his Aunt Marge "for a while" and that perhaps it was best if he rented a room at the Leaky Cauldron until term started so he didn't accidentally miss the train.

Hagrid fell for it hook, line and sinker. Skull really hated doing this to him, but he knew far too well that Hagrid was one of Dumbledore's Elements and would report _everything_ if asked without thinking twice about the matter.

At least he got Hedwig back, who was as beautiful as the day he first got her.

Apparently Death had a sense of humor, because once safely inside his room his owl gave him a good "talking to" in bird-speak (thus revealing she had been sent back as well, though it wasn't that surprising considering she was his first familiar) while batting him with her wings at being such a fool. Once she got her 'rant' out of the way, his beloved owl promptly took her usual perch on his right shoulder and started preening his hair with an exasperated air about her.

Skull would never regret learning how to speak Bird, even if people used to give him weird looks until he met someone who spoke Reptile.

He sometimes wondered how Reborn would have reacted to hearing _Skull_ using parseltongue around him, just to see if the Sun actually understood what he was saying.

* * *

Skull was able to intercept Hermione in the bookstore, much to his relief.

Hermione was so happy to have an explanation for all the weird things that she had no idea what she was about to run right into.

"You know I find it funny that all the new bloods are always so excited to learn about magic, yet are so quick to dismiss the fact they're basically being dropped into a subculture living right alongside modern London," he said casually. "Almost like the rather unfortunate culture shock experienced by the European settlers when they first encountered the Native Americans."

Hermione paused in her reading to Look at him.

"New bloods?" she asked.

"A less insulting term for muggleborns. I mean most of them are actually descendants from 'squibs' who are people born to magical families, but for one reason or another lack the ability to _use_ their pathways correctly. Most of them are lucky to be tossed into orphanages, while some families will kill their children outright if they can't use magic, thinking it a mark of shame," said Skull.

Hermione looked appalled.

"That's completely barbaric."

"Most new bloods actually consider a lot of the old traditions and ways to be barbaric without bothering to learn _why_ they exist. How would you like it if someone came into your home, and then proceeded to call you uncivilized for something you've been doing for generations, like saying your prayers before eating?"

Hermione blinked, before she looked thoughtful.

"I would be insulted and quick to judge because they didn't bother to understand why we did it, even if it was mostly a misunderstanding due to religious differences."

Skull pulled out a book from the shelf.

"Here's a book that's considered 'basic knowledge' on how to treat your peers in the magical enclaves. If you study this and put the practices to use, you'll find a lot of the more neutral or 'gray' pure bloods will be less likely to call you a 'mudblood' or be antagonistic."

"Mudblood?"

"Derogatory magical slang used by self-righteous pure bloods against new bloods. It means 'dirty blood' and is the magical equivalent of the 'n' word for blacks," explained Skull.

Hermione looked disgusted at the comparison.

"Where are my manners. Hermione Granger."

"Harry Potter. And before you ask, I had no idea people were writing outright _fiction_ about me behind my back. I've certainly given no interviews and all the books based on how I survived are pure hearsay and conjecture without basis in fact or scientific analysis. For all I know the Dark Lord hit one of those childish mirrors in my crib and the curse reflected back on him, only for me to get this scar from the ceiling collapsing," said Skull.

He was treating Hermione like Verde, but at least it got her to _think_ , rather than accept things at face value.

"And don't get me started on the classes. Have you _seen_ the books they tell you to get?"

"What about them?"

"Look at the list and tell me what's missing, then ask that. I can already tell I'm going to be doing a lot of self-study to avoid being left behind just to pass my exams," lied Skull. He had already passed his A-Levels, but she didn't need to know that.

Hermione took out her list...and didn't get it. So Skull enlightened her again.

"Where's the English, history, math or even sciences? There's a bare minimum of classes and if you look around the bookstore I bet you won't find a single _normal_ reference book or course book that would allow you to pass your A-levels," said Skull. "There's also no books on ingredient reactions or potion prep, and it's the magical equivalent of chemistry."

Hermione looked appalled at that revelation and made a note to get extra books from outside Diagon so she could keep up with her real education.

Mission accomplished (and leaving Hermione behind to stew over the information dump he had given her) Skull cheerfully went to get some ice cream.

Only to end up eating with the Grangers come dinner, mostly because he had given their daughter fair warning of what she was about to go up against just to get her gift trained.

Skull laid another info dump on Hermione by explaining what he had 'observed' about the houses.

Namely that Gryffindor was apparently where the jocks and "brave to the point of stupid" went, Slytherin was automatically suspected because the previous dark lord came out of that house and would not appreciate if a new blood ended up sorted there, Ravenclaw was full of bookworms and 'nerds', while Hufflepuff was collectively considered the house of the 'leftovers' because they personified loyalty and hard work, yet had a habit of pumping out the majority of the current Auror corps. In fact the current head of the DMLE was a former Puff.

Skull would give it time before he dropped the bomb that Dumbledore had _known_ how far Grindlewald had been willing to go, but had been unwilling to do anything useful to STOP his lover from starting World War Two. He could have kept things from escalating, but had been blinded by the concept of "greater good" that he was willing to let such obvious atrocities slide until someone forced him to deal with the problem. That might offend Hermione's sense of justice enough not to take the old bastard's word as gospel a second time.

* * *

He should have expected this. He really, really should have.

Of course the hat would take one look at his manipulative side and immediately sort him into Slytherin without giving him a chance to argue for a different house.

He was so setting moths on that damn enchanted piece of fabric... being in Slytherin would only make his work harder!

At least he wouldn't have to suffer alone.

"You looked pissed," said Viper.

"Do you have any idea how annoying people are going to be about this? They'll take _one_ look at the silver and green on my tie and automatically suspect what I'm doing purely because the English magical enclaves are full of biased idiots!"

Skull only belatedly realized that he hadn't lowered his tone, because most of the great hall (namely anyone born to the magical enclave) were giving him dirty looks.

Skull decided to hell with it.

"Oh come on, don't tell me no one else has noticed that you get automatically judged based on where that faulty piece of cloth sorts you when you're _eleven_! It's ridiculous that everyone automatically considers Hufflepuff the house of the 'leftovers' when anyone with brains knows that most of the DMLE is made up of badgers! And don't get me started on the Gryffindors! Everyone thinks they can do no wrong because the headmaster used to be one and the deputy headmistress is also the head of that house, but they're jocks who are far too quick to jump into danger without actually _thinking_ or creating a plan that could do the job with half the risk!" ranted Skull. "And it really, really pisses me off that everyone automatically assumes Slytherins are 'evil' because some senile old man had a spat with the headmaster that got way out of hand and because they actually use their brains to make a plan and get others to help them! What if their 'ambition' was to become a healer or open a joke shop that could out-sell Zonkos?"

Dead silence. That was the ONLY way to describe the shock of the Boy-Who-Lived going on a rant like that to defend Slytherin. Especially considering he blatantly called _Voldemort_ a 'senile old man'.

Though that crack about a joke shop that was better than Zonko's had been a deliberate jab at Fred and George. Rather than look insulted, they had a thoughtful expression on their face as they re-evaluated their dislike of Slytherins.

The sorting quietly restarted, though there was a very strong frown on McGonagall's face as she kept shooting glances to the boy she had assumed would end up in her house.

 _Later..._

Skull looked at his new housemates, and then pointedly stood in front of Viper in a protective stance.

"Let's get one thing perfectly clear here. If I catch any of you fuckers bothering her I will not hesitate to demonstrate exactly how much I am like my deranged cousin Bellatrix fucking Lestrange. Because in case any of you have forgotten, there's Black blood ruining through my veins as much as there is Potter, and I don't intend to be _merciful_ if you piss me off," said Skull bluntly.

Stunned silence, before someone bravely spoke up.

"Are you actually _admitting_ to the fact you're related to Bellatrix Lestrange?" asked Nott incredulously.

"Just a _friendly_ reminder of the fact that the same blood magic that runs in her also runs in me," said Skull, smile full of teeth. "Unlike that senile bastard Dumbledore, I'm not afraid to use the old magicks to deal with anyone who pisses me off. They've survived this long for a fucking reason and like any true follower of Loki I intend to create some mischief. Besides, if any of your had any _real_ brains you would have figured out Voldemort has been screwing over the old families under the guise of 'wiping out the muggleborns'."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean, Potter?" demanded Draco in a whine.

"I mean all of your parents have been completely blindsided by the bastard half-blood son of a squib who had to resort to _love potions_ just to ensnare a _muggle_ she fancied. And the dark lord that you were so quick to join up with is a kin slayer who was stupid enough to violate the sanctity of his soul."

"Lies!" snarled one of the older Slytherins. The children of the Death Eaters all looked beyond pissed.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle, son of Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle who was the son of a muggle lord in the area Merope lived in with her brother Morfin and father Marvolo. Her father was arrested for attacking muggles and her brother joined him when he went after the Aurors who came to arrest the father. Merope used that chance to ensnare the boy she fancied until she got pregnant and stopped dosing him with love potions. Riddle kicked her to the curb while she was still pregnant, and Tom Riddle was raised in an orphanage," said Skull matter of fact. "And here's the real kicker... if you switched the letters around in his full name, you get the anagram 'I am Lord Voldemort' from it."

Shocked, horrified silence. But Skull wasn't finished.

"Of course if you don't believe me you can always owl the goblins. They keep a detailed registry of bloodlines for their own records and will send you a certified copy for a fee of two sickles. And before any of you claim that Voldemort actually gave a damn about the magical bloodlines, I ask you this... how many pure blood families did he wipe out during his spat with Dumbledore simply because they got in his way?"

That got a lot of people thinking. Finally one of his fellow "first years" spoke.

"What's your stance on muggleborns?" asked Blaise.

"I think someone needs to get it in their heads that the rules of modern day London don't apply here. The magical enclaves are basically a subculture living side by side with the non-magical one and they are being deliberately kept ignorant of that fact and why things are the way they are by Dumbledore. Not to mention that a lot of family magics are forced to go into hiding simply because the old bastard has delusions of adequacy and is almost certainly threatened by the fact that certain gifts are passed along the older families, which his bloodline is not part of in the least," said Skull immediately and without any hesitation. "Just because he doesn't have any bloodline gifts is no excuse for him to openly _ban_ anything he doesn't approve of as 'dark' just so no one else can use them."

It would take Skull a few days to realize he had earned a _lot_ of brownie points with the fact he didn't automatically follow Dumbledore's rather ridiculous propaganda. He wasn't 'dark', but he most certainly refused to be a blind sheep like the rest of the magical enclaves who openly believed Dumbledore could do no wrong because he ended Grindlewald.

And if he found it rather odd to find Blaise giving him speculative looks, he kept it to himself. At least his roommates didn't snore nearly as badly as he knew Ron did.

Viper made no bones of how she felt about her 'cousin'. Skull had presented her with an official contract that would solidify her position among their housemates and the pure blood faction the morning after the sorting.

"What is this?" said Viper faint.

"A contract stating that you will act as the Steward to the Ancient and Noble Houses of Black and Potter to the best of your ability. It means you get limited access to the vaults...mostly to do budgeting and make a few investments here and there, occasionally act as my voice among the pure bloods since I have little to no training in that regard, and will provide a shield from the other girls when they realize your skill level when it comes to wand magic."

Viper looked at the contract, which was fairly straightforward in a way that would leave most wondering what Skull's intentions were.

"Why?"

"You're family and I'll be damned if I let the other Slytherins think they can walk all over you to get to me. This gives you a way to protect yourself against that sort of discrimination, and I know all too well how petty children can be," said Skull immediately.

Viper re-read the contract, before taking a clean knife and cutting into her palm and using a quill that she later burned to sign it.

If there was one thing she had come to count on, it was that Skull was simply too honest to stab someone in the back. He would rather face someone in an up-front fight with honor than backstab them. At least most of the time. Viper had been rather approving of the way he had dealt with his "aunt and uncle" in a way that earned him money in the process.

He was efficient and not afraid to get his hands dirty, not to mention he had the patience of a snake about to strike. All good qualities to have in a Black.


	4. Chapter 4

Skull became known as the "oddball Slytherin" due to the simple fact that despite being a member full of "backstabbing snakes", he was generally upfront and honest about his intentions. It was rather baffling to the teachers why the Hat would place him in Slytherin because he seemed as genial and honest as a Hufflepuff with an intelligence to rival anyone from Ravenclaw. He was bright and rather cheerful, which was a distinct difference from his housemates who generally looked at everyone with suspicion and always had ulterior motives when it came to favors.

The fact that he had taken his almost-Squib cousin and made her his Steward despite the fact she would have great trouble being more than a hedgewitch was one of the bigger shocks in the school. It wasn't that big a secret that "Camellia" barely managed to make the requirements to earn a spot in Hogwarts and would have to maintain a strong grade point average just to graduate at all.

Skull honestly didn't give a damn about his reputation, had little to no interest in politics, and was generally an "all around nice guy" which made his sorting very baffling.

He found it amusing that as a result of his "nice guy" persona, the entire school apparently decided to treat him like a Gryffindor who had the bad luck of being sorted into the wrong house. Even Dumbledore lowered his guard. Keeping up the "clueless and impressionable" Harry Potter disguise was exhausting, but at least he was allowed to drop it once safely inside the walls of the Slytherin dorms.

They had quickly figured out that while most of his mask was genuine, the "act" he put on in front of the school was the perfect disguise to keep the Headmaster and most of the teachers from looking too deeply at what he was really doing in the shadows.

Like the fact that by the end of the first month, he had met with nearly _every_ muggleborn and half-blood raised in the mundane world and explained reality to them of what they would be facing inside the English enclaves.

"I'm going to be perfectly blunt about the reality you'll be facing once outside of Hogwarts. The English magical enclaves may seem backwards and outdated to you, but you're simply coming at it from entirely the wrong angle and it's pissing off those who have lived in it their whole lives."

"What do you mean, the wrong angle?" asked one Ravenclaw.

Skull thought of how to put this, then went and got a blackboard.

He drew two circles, one smaller than the other.

"Let's say this is Rome and this smaller one is a gypsy group that lives in the underground. Now on the surface, Rome has all the familiar laws you're used to, all nice and civilized. However on the other side is the gypsies, who have a unique culture that occasionally clashes quite violently and doesn't like ideas that seem too progressive or that step on centuries of traditions, values and religion. So when people from 'Rome' are accepted into the gypsies as tentative 'fresh blood' to keep the bloodlines and old ways from dying out..."

One Ravenclaw looked rather intrigued, than offended.

"You're saying that this is a case of a smaller subculture clashing with a larger, more wide spread one. Like the Native Americans when the European settlers showed up and started making a mess of things."

"Exactly. The magical enclaves are a small subculture that live side by side with the larger, more tech-heavy non-magical culture that you're familiar with. Trying to bring something like a computer or electricity here is the equivalent of trying to install such things in a secluded old world village where the culture and people have been set in their ways for _centuries_. Never mind how expensive and labor intensive such a thing would be, but the locals would fight you every step of the way simply because they all have the same attitude of 'this is how it's always been done and we're not going to change because an outsider finds it outdated' mindset," said Skull, nodding. "It really, really doesn't help that Dumbledore has been screwing over those coming in from the non-magical side of things for _years_ now."

That got a shock from everyone.

"What do you mean by that? He's Dumbledore!"

"He's also made no effort to give new bloods and half-bloods from the mundane side of things a proper chance to integrate into the subculture to the point they have an actual _chance_ at getting a proper job. And because of the lack of normal education, anyone graduating from Hogwarts is only going to walk out with a few fancy tricks and far too much catching up to do in order to pass their A-levels. And let's not get started on the fact that everyone is so hung up on the House system that everyone is automatically painted with the same brush as the common image of their house," said Skull flatly. "Take Slytherin for example. Just because there have been a few bad apples and a 'dark lord' from that house in the past hundred years, everyone is immediately biased against them as if they're evil and up to no good, while they openly gloss over the fact that it wasn't _just_ from Slytherin that the man recruited from. I know for a _fact_ there was at least ONE Gryffindor who took up the Dark Mark before his fall."

That seemed to shake the others up, hearing that there had been a _Gryffindor_ who bore the Dark Mark.

* * *

It was the talk of the school and most of the English enclaves. Hell, there were quite a few people talking about it overseas. What had started as a rather interesting Quibbler article by a wizard with an unusual pen name quickly gained attention from the _Daily Prophet._ Within a week of the article it was being reprinted in the more accepted newspaper and read by almost everyone.

 _Albus Dumbledore: Cultural Icon or Disaster?_

 _By Midnight Marauder_

 _Albus Dumbledore, defeater of Grindlewald has been lauded for all of his contributions to magical society. He is over a century old and surely has many, many things to share with our youths as Headmaster._

 _But people have been blinded by his public image to the point they've failed to notice the damage caused by laws he knowingly allowed to be passed since You-Know-Who's fall ten years ago._

 _Fact: the Dumbledore family was only ennobled_ after _he defeated Grindlewald. Every witch or wizard from that line has never shown a single bloodline gift since they first appeared in the magical society._

 _Fact: Dumbledore has shown a very limited tolerance to the so-called 'Dark magics' which can included parseltongue, blood runes, and a disturbingly large number of older rituals, which until the past twenty years, were used successfully and with great benefit to our magical culture._

 _Fact: Parselmagic (the use of parseltongue in place of human languages) is a well known_ green magic. _It is only in the UK and certain areas of Europe that the magical language, which is well known as a bloodline gift, that it is considered "evil" because of the actions of a few. In China parselmouths are so revered that they are often taken into the Emperors court to help maintain the Chinese Fireball Sanctuary. In India parselmouths are known to be great healers and ward masters._

 _Fact: Since Dumbledore became headmaster, Hogwarts rankings as a school for magical study has slipped to alarming levels as important classes have been deliberately cut, citing "budget issues" or to "follow Ministry guidelines". Guidelines Dumbledore would have a personal hand in_ writing _. Among the lost classes from the past thirty years are Occulmency training (the art of protecting one's self from unwanted intrusion from so-called "mind readers"), basic potions prep, several language courses, and most notably classes which would give our heirs a proper grounding in magical artifact creation._

 _Fact: Hogwarts has allowed several_ key classes _to slip below acceptable levels, up to and including Potions, Magical history, Divination and Muggle Studies. While Severus Snape is indeed a premiere potions master worthy of respect in his art, he is much better suited to training the older students who have already passed their O.W.L.s and already have a grounding in how to brew properly._

 _Fact: There have been no Masteries or follow up study in magical history since Binns had become stuck on the same loop when he died. One can_ literally _pay one of the older Ravenclaws for notes, as Binns has yet to deviate from when he died. We are losing knowledge and memories of centuries of rich magical history that is so much more than the goblin rebellions._

 _Fact: there are no classes that would allow the muggleborns to properly integrate into our society, and because they have no understanding of magical culture they are left to fall by the wayside and create a strain on our resources, as they are unable to return to their mundane roots due to lack of proper education._

 _Fact: Dumbledore has_ actively _encouraged muggleborns to continue spending their gold without giving them any basic information. Many are mistakenly encouraged to believe that they can become Minister or other high profile career when they graduate._

 _Fact: The number of Squib births has risen to alarming levels in recent decades. England has become such an insular country that we are considered a joke among the other magical enclaves. Hogwarts graduates are quite literally_ laughed _out of jobs outside Europe regardless of blood status the moment they say which school they graduated from._

 _Fact: according to ICW records, the school that is considered the_ premiere _institution for magical education is in Japan. Hogwarts is not even ranked among the top twenty._

 _The question remains whether our beloved community has lost it's way following a leader who has little to no actual background in basic magical culture and seems determined to force us to integrate with the_ muggles _, rather than instructing our youths in traditions and values that have stood us through_ centuries _of trials and tribulations against all odds._

 _For a list of laws passed and denied by Dumbledore, see page three_

 _For a validated genealogy on the Dumbledore line, see page four_

 _For a listing of classes dropped since his election as headmaster, see page five_

Skull had to fight the urge to grin like the Cheshire cat. He had set the niffler in the vaults with this stunt. The best part was there was no way in hell Dumbledore would be able to sue him later for slander, because he had backed _everything_ up with solid research. Granted, it was done _after_ the war, but he had been able to cite his sources regardless and had set Susan Bones and a good chunk of the bored Ravenclaws on finding out which laws Dumbledore had passed or denied since he joined the Wizangamot. Then he had the Ravenclaws look at the _impact_ said laws would have on certain old traditions, gifts and bloodline heritage.

The results were beyond damning, and it hadn't taken long to secure both houses to his side.

Gryffindor was up in the air, but he had three-fourths of the school on his side and no one had any clue he was anything other than a 'misplaced' Gryffindor.

After all, how could such an "open, honest and cheerful" person be a manipulative bastard like every other Slytherin?

Blaise had to discreetly raise his goblet to him. A nod of a move well played that was doing untold damage to Dumbledore's reputation in a way he would have intense difficulty counterattacking.

The article appealed to the older pure bloods who believed in centuries of traditions and values by the way it heavily emphasized how Dumbledore did _not_ have the proper background to appreciate their culture. It appealed to the muggleborns because it spelled out in painful detail that they had been mislead by someone who they were supposed to trust and had let them down quite spectacularly.

Both the Light and Dark factions would read it and find truths that Dumbledore had tried to hide for years, and they would become _pissed_ upon realizing how badly Dumbledore was damaging their proud culture.

Not even Lucius Malfoy would argue that Dumbledore was a disaster to their heritage and tradition.

It was painfully clear that Harry Potter was more of a Black than anyone could have ever anticipated. A Black in all the _best_ possible ways, while maintaining a persona that kept people from looking too hard at what he was actually doing.

It was ironic, but while everyone had _assumed_ Draco would become the Prince of Slytherin, they had had a _King_ dropped in their lap instead.

* * *

Blaise waited for one of the many, many days Black would be relatively alone after consulting with Camellia.

"Black."

"Zabini," he nodded in greeting.

"Do you have a Cloud yet?" he asked.

Black choked on his morning drink, before looking at Blaise with a disbelieving expression on his face.

" _Are you a Hel-damned idiot, talking about_ that _here?!"_ he hissed in _perfect Italian_.

Zabini's eyes shot up in shock.

" _You speak Italian?"_

" _And you apparently seem to believe I'm a Sky for some bizarre reason,"_ he snapped back.

Blaise threw out everything he knew about Black before he cautiously asked "Omerta?"

"Vindice," said Black without any hesitation.

Blaise wanted to sink into the nearest couch. Black knew of the Cosa Nostra. Hell, was almost certainly a member of it already!

Harry checked that they weren't overheard, before thoroughly insuring it.

" _I was eight when I took out my mundane relatives to insure I would be able to slip out of the old goat's cage. Not only that, but I made very sure my 'uncle' made the mistake of pissing off his Family to the point they put out a hit on him and then collected the bounty once it was confirmed,"_ said Harry bluntly, making damn sure to use Italian only.

" _What's your Flame?"_ asked Blaise, looking positively dazed at this revelation. He wasn't appalled by the knowledge Black had deliberately manipulated his uncle into pissing off his famiglia and then collected the bounty for it. Far from it... it meant Black was willing and ready to get his hands dirty if it meant dealing with an issue.

Harry grinned, before holding out his hand and briefly showing off distinctive purple flames streaked with another color that moved too quickly to be caught. But they looked either a Sun yellow...or more likely, considering how easily he had taken control of the Slytherins, a Sky orange.

A strong Cloud with a possible Sky secondary. Dumbledore was _screwed_ if he tried to contain Black.

" _Camellia is my acting Right hand... but I do have a position for a very subtle Left,"_ said Harry. _"At the very least I can help you get connections within the Cosa Nostra that will come in very useful later once we leave England."_

Blaise smirked. Black had gone from potentially interesting to a very terrifying ally. No way in _hell_ was he passing up partnering up with the boy now.

" _Allies?"_ he asked, holding out his hand.

Harry shook it without hesitation.

" _It'll be fun to work with you, Zabini. Your family scares the hell out of me when they get creative,"_ he said dead serious.

" _You know of us?"_

" _I know you're one of the more powerful families in Italy, yet have the brains to avoid the Alliance. I swear, the Vongola propaganda about Flames is almost as bad as the crap people come up with based on what house people came from,"_ said Harry rolling his eyes. The Italians were always trying to emulate Giotto and his generation, and quite honestly he found it ridiculous.

Blaise snorted in open agreement, glad that Black at least didn't fall for the same trap most families did.

At the very least he wouldn't have to hide nearly as much as he had assumed in the school.

" _Wait... how is it that you're so open and_ loud _all the time if you're a Cloud?!"_ said Blaise incredulous.

" _Inverted. That and Dumbledore tried to force me into the general mentality of a Lightning without knowing a_ thing _about Flame types,"_ said Harry in disgust. _"Too bad for him I have plenty of training in hiding my real behavior behind a mask until I strike from the shadows."_

Blaise looked at him with open sympathy, needing no other explanation. Lightnings (next to Storms) were almost the epitome of everything Gryffindor currently portrayed. Brash, idiotic and far too quick to jump into danger without a single plan.

All because the mafia had it in their head that Lightnings were supposed to _attract_ damage, rather than actually use their brain based on some half-assed description of the Vongola's first generation from four hundred years ago.


	5. Chapter 5

Camellia took the addition of Blaise as the "Left Hand" without comment. It only took one introduction before Blaise upgraded the witch to the same level as Harry upon realizing that the girl was a powerful and very vindictive Mist. One who's loyalty had been firmly secured towards her cousin for the fact he was openly supporting her magical education.

Though Blaise's suspicions that Harry Black had a Sky Secondary only shot up after finding out he had managed to collect a Mist.

All in all, Blaise found the real side of Harry Black highly entertaining, even if he found it baffling and a bit surreal learning the rather loud and somewhat sarcastic boy was a Cloud as well. An Inverted one, no less.

He had to admit, the ruse worked well to terrifying degrees. No one bothered to look underneath the underneath of Harry's actions. No one saw the minute changes that were being made, too busy seeing their "Golden Boy" at face value to realize they were being played by a _master_.

Hell, even _Draco_ was respectful of Harry.

 _Hermione POV_

It had come as a massive shock, learning _Harry Potter_ had been the one to keep her from making some massive faux pas among the magical enclave. She had no idea how many little things she took for granted would get her shunned as an 'ignorant mudblood' by the older families.

She was very grateful he had at least given her a head's up on the houses. She shuddered to think how badly things could have gone if she had gone into Gryffindor like she originally wanted. All because McGonagall was head of the house and had introduced her to magic.

She was much happier in Ravenclaw. At least here people _appreciated_ her love of reading and enjoying the peace and quiet of a proper library. Besides, she had been thrilled at a chance to do an untold amount of research on magical culture that was quickly becoming lost.

(She was slightly horrified learning WHY several aspects she found fascinating were being lost, but from what she could see Harry had a plan to fix things properly by getting the public to do most of the work for him.)

* * *

Skull was rather enjoying his monthly articles to the _Quibbler_ and to a lesser extent, _Daily Prophet_. With Viper's help he was able to secure enough of the shares in the _Prophet_ that he could insure his articles were ALWAYS printed, regardless of the content and how badly things would be shaken up by them. It also gave him power to forcibly veto articles and censure fools like Rita Skeeter.

Even if he did have the knowledge she was an illegal beetle animagus to hold over her head, he wasn't stupid enough to use it unless he had to.

"So what's next month's subject?" asked Blaise. He was enjoying the rush of power that came from being Black's left hand.

Skull grinned.

"I need you and Camellia to go around all the families known to either associate or had any contact with the Dark Lord as a member of his forces... controlled or not. I want you to discreetly ask what the Dark Lord promised them for their support and whether or not he ever delivered on said promises."

Blaise got what Black was getting at and chuckled darkly.

"Devious and subtle," said Blaise.

"Voldemort is a spoiled brat who was pissed at the world and who fell far, far off the deep end because he delved into the wrong kinds of dark magic. Point out the hard facts that anyone can find if they ask the right questions and if he bothers to come back he's going to find himself missing a chunk of his support."

"While at the same time giving you ample backing against the headmaster if he ever figures out what a manipulative bastard you are," said Blaise in appreciation.

"Oh I have the perfect protection against that old goat. He can't declare me dark without painting himself the same," said Skull, rubbing his hands.

"It's not like you have a phoenix or anything," said Blaise.

"I have something much more...impressive... than a common phoenix. Something anyone who's spent time in Asia or at least knows of the mythology will recognize pretty damn fast. All it would take is one article explaining what it is and why it's so rare and the magical public will never dare consider calling me _evil_ so long as it's around. Ironically it's also the source of why people consider phoenixes symbols of light magic when they can attach themselves to people who practice dark magic just as easily as saints," said Skull.

"What?!" said Blaise.

Skull shrugged.

"Phoenixes are from the middle east and Egypt. Most references call them messengers of the sun god or immortal birds that rise from the ashes. However their Asian cousins are far more impressive and are extremely rare because it takes a certain person for them to deem worthy before they show themselves. They're like unicorns in that they only like certain people."

"You know a lot about magical creatures."

"I have a firm policy of 'If it's not trying to maim, kill or otherwise eat me, then it's live and let live.' Just because something looks scary and terrifying doesn't mean I have to kill it on principle."

"Sensible," said Blaise. "Hagrid will love an attitude like that."

" _Too bad he's one of Dumbledore's Guardians. Lightning latent, I think,"_ said Harry switching to Italian.

Blaise blinked, before he shook his head in exasperation.

" _That makes far too much sense than it doesn't, like how he can take hits and handle dangerous creatures,"_ he replied. _"So how are things back home?"_

And by that Blaise meant Italy.

" _Ren is still getting contacts, but for the most part things are the same as always,"_ said Skull.

Renato had been more than happy to share the latest gossip with his friend...mostly because Skull, before he had gone back to England to keep up the ruse of "Harry Potter", had given him a list of safe houses and a copy of the "master key" into them. He had bonded with the Potter family elves, who were more than delighted to insure that their Master's friend was kept alive and fed for him. Even if it had become a game between them and Renato for him to catch them in the act.

" _Any Family in particular you're interested in?"_ asked Skull.

" _General gossip is fine,"_ said Blaise.

Due to how insular the English enclaves were, Blaise had very little ability to keep up with the gossip in Italy. Finding out Black didn't mind letting him in on his arrangement with his friend back in Italy had been a very pleasant surprise.

Blaise noticed Hedwig showing up with an ornate scroll in Chinese script. It looked expensive.

Skull took one look at it and swore.

"Oh gods, please tell me that not from who I think it is..." he groaned, putting his face into his hands.

Hedwig dropped it onto his lap, and after a cursory scan Blaise was both startled and highly amused at the string of swears (all in Italian, hence the amusement) Black let loose.

"That damn puffed up chicken just _had_ to show off! I am going to wring his scrawny neck and pluck him bald!"

"Do I dare ask what that is about?" asked Viper.

Skull had the most hilarious pained look on his face.

" _The emperor of China apparently wants to adopt me because word has reached him of a certain annoying as hell puffed up overgrown chicken with a god complex,"_ said Skull in Italian.

" _...A puffed up..."_ started Viper.

" _Overgrown chicken with a god complex?"_ finished Blaise, raising a single eyebrow.

" _I left him with a friend of mine in China and apparently word reached the Emperor about the stupid bird so he sent someone to investigate. This is going to be such a pain in the ass, since I was debating on whether to stick around for Christmas. Now I'm going to have to visit China during the holidays to straighten this out... if that old goat finds out even a fraction about my contacts it's going to be nearly_ impossible _to keep flying under the radar!"_ whined Skull.

" _Is you friend connected to the Triads?"_ asked Blaise seriously.

" _They've been scouting him out since he went Active, but have refrained partly due to his age and the fact he's been keeping that stupid bird far from the 'uncouth high noses in the West' for me. However he still hears things so he's been keeping me up to date on the latest gossip that might affect me later,"_ said Skull. _"The irony is that he's a really strong Storm and he acts nothing like it."_

Blaise and Viper grinned.

" _Fun,"_ they said in unison.

" _Of course you're going to need both your Hands with you,"_ said Blaise grinning.

" _I want to meet your contact. If you trust him enough with what I suspect has attached itself to you, then he must be worth knowing,"_ said Viper.

Skull considered that, before an evil, evil idea came to him.

Before, Fon and Viper had danced around each other for years as Viper had become very leery of trusting anyone without being paid. Except Fon was genuinely fond of the Mist and wouldn't have hesitated to ask them out if given even a single chance.

Sadly thanks to the curse and the way everyone had drifted apart, the smiling Storm never had a proper chance to break through Viper's prickly exterior.

Perhaps this time he could arrange things so they had an actual chance?

" _I'm sure he'd have fun meeting you,"_ said Skull to Viper.

They had barely been a team before the curse. Just a group of strangers thrown together half-assed by the Man in the Iron Hat. Maybe this time they could become a proper nakama, as opposed to people who barely tolerated each other.

At least this time Reborn wouldn't be so quick to dismiss him and kick him around as a Lackey.

* * *

 _Snape POV_

Things had not gone as planned after the Sorting.

Most had progressed as it always had. Alliances were forged in the lower years and a pecking order promptly established without any input from him.

However this time around there was an anomaly no one saw coming.

Potter's spawn. A boy who everyone expected to be sorted into either Gryffindor or possibly Ravenclaw.

Except the brat had thrown a curveball when the hat hadn't even been on his head for two seconds before immediately declaring Slytherin.

Yes, that was where his confusion began. With that sorting.

Potter had looked irritated at it, but had taken it in stride. Before promptly displaying his father's arrogance by sniping at the house system in a way that left quite a few people affronted.

The thing that galled him the most was that he couldn't even fault the boy for his blunt assessment of the blatant stereotyping of the four houses. The simple fact was that the second you were sorted, you were automatically lumped into a general image and treated accordingly. Clearly the boy had the brains to ask more than the idiotic oaf Hagrid about the other houses, since Dumbledore had been leaning heavily towards Gryffindor.

One thing that had surprised him was the way Potter had promptly claimed the almost-squib Camellia Black as family, even going so far as to appoint her his Steward. It was a move worthy of a Black, as it gave the witch protection from her own house through the simple fact that if they dared to target her in an effort to get to Potter, it would be considered an attack on the Ancient and Noble House of Black and would be grounds for a blood feud.

No one sane wanted to initiate a feud with the House of Black over a girl who barely managed to make the cut.

But the confusion and headache didn't end there.

Within a week, Potter had united _every_ pure blood behind him regardless of what side their family had been on in the war. Some would never join him in a fight, as memories ran deep in some families, but he had established at least a general neutrality which was more than anyone could have hoped for. The fact he gained complete control over the entire Slytherin house within three days was both startling and worrying. Not even Draco, who he had thought would throw one hell of a fit or at least whine to Lucius by now, had dared to complain about the fact he was below Potter in the pure blood totem pole in the school.

He could easily understand why most of his Snakes had taken to calling him "Black" within the walls of their dorms. He certainly didn't act anything like James Potter, Sirius Black or Lily Evans had.

Harry Potter acted more like the more cunning and powerful members that came from the House of Black. The ones who had refused to aid Voldemort and were more than willing to cut Bellatrix out of the family if her madness ever came out in public. There were multiple reasons why she never strayed far from the Dark Lord's side, and a fear for her inheritance was one of them.

The thing that shook him the most however was the brief and very enlightening confrontation with the boy in question a week and a half after the sorting.

There was no way Potter would know of the name "Half-Blood Prince" and _know_ that it was a direct reference to Severus Snape. He had made very sure to erase all traces of that private nickname he had given himself _years_ ago.

Except Potter, to his complete disbelief, was also able to describe the dark curse he had _personally_ made and the effects when used. Potter _knew_ who the creator of that spell was and how to cast it...as he had demonstrated on a rat Snape had conjured.

The experience had shaken him to the core, but Potter wasn't finished. He went into the potion's cupboard where the spare texts were stored for the advanced classes and pulled out a beaten book. A very _familiar_ beaten book which he had opened up with shaky hands to find his own handwriting in the margins. Potter had even cited the very _page_ where the _Sectumsempra_ spell could be found.

Needless to say he had believed the boy when he said that he had a minor mishap with some form of time magic and ended up in his younger body. There was no other way he could have faked that knowledge and not once did he feel any brush up against his shields.

Seeing the war that would occur if Dumbledore's plans went as he expected had been a very sobering experience. The knowledge that Potter, no _Black,_ intended to change things so that there was far less death and damage done and was merely asking that Snape keep out of his manipulations had been the least shocking thing to come out of the boy's mouth that night.

Snape downed another whiskey.

Well, far be it for _him_ to interfere with a long term plan by a true Slytherin fooling everyone into believing he was a misplaced Gryffindor. The irony was that he didn't think the fool's persona the boy adopted was faked in the least.

A dark smile crept across his lips.

He couldn't wait for Dumbledore or McGonagall to find out the hard way that Harry Black was a much deadlier and cunning wizard than Voldemort could have ever been.

He would openly admitted that while the Dark Lord was good, he lacked the finesse and patience that Black had in spades.

He was only in first year now and yet he had amassed a stronger support base than Voldemort ever had in the school even when he was a student.

At least he wouldn't be bored.


	6. Chapter 6

**The first of the Arcobaleno to return besides Skull-sama! XD But really, it's a surprise it didn't happen sooner.**

* * *

Skull was mostly skimming the Quibbler when he saw an article covered by discreet Mist Flames. Curious, he made sure no one was watching before pulsing his Flames as lightly as he could...to reveal a message from Luna.

Blinking, before re-reading it twice and making sure he wasn't seeing things, Skull grinned.

Well if anyone could have somehow found a way to come back by accident, it made sense that it would be him.

And he had the perfect bird to deliver his message. He wasn't chancing Hedwig, no way in hell.

Skull took out a quill and some fresh parchment, before writing a quick message in the cipher he knew that person would be able to translate, regardless of how annoyed he would be having to do so.

Then he called Lark and patiently waited a few hours.

And he couldn't suppress the grin on his face when he got an irate owl two days later.

" _Skull, how the hell did you find out I got shunted into my younger body and where in blazes did you find a damn phoenix to act as messenger?_

 _Coincidentally do you think I could have a few samples to play with? The thing wouldn't let me near it, just dumped the letter and flamed off._

 _Verde."_

Skull snickered. Smart bird.

" _I have my sources. You have no idea how relieved I am you're back as well. I've already managed to track down Viper, Reborn and Fon. Viper's with me now, but they have no memories of_ that _curse. Imagine my shock learning Viper is actually my cousin!_

 _As for the samples, I can try and see if Lark will let you have some, but I wouldn't count on it._

 _I'm going to be heading to China for Christmas... if you're interested in meeting around that time let me know. Pretty sure I can source you a two-way diary if you want more regular communications._

 _The Great Skull-sama! (Sadly without Oodako)"_

He even ended it with a winky face. He knew that would irritate Verde like nothing else.

Verde surprised him by delivering a magic-proof satellite phone that ran on Flames. Figures he wouldn't live without his precious technology.

" _Yo,_ Verde _! Long time since I heard from you,"_ said Skull cheerfully in Japanese.

" _Skull. You sound even_ more _ridiculous before puberty hits than I expected. Where in blazes are you that you have to wait until Christmas to arrange a meeting? And what do you mean Viper is your cousin?!"_ said Verde in the same language.

" _Highland Scotland in a magical institution that's gone down the drain because the headmaster is a moron."_

" _...That explains much. So you've found Fon, Reborn and Viper? How did you know I would remember?"_ questioned Verde.

" _Would you believe me if I said that a Lovegood told me?"_ asked Skull hopefully.

Dead silence.

" _I believe you. I had a girl about ten or so showing up in my lab two months ago asking for a box that contained a 'crumple-horned snorkack', whatever the hell that is,"_ said Verde annoyed.

Skull snickered openly. Well that explained how Luna found out Verde had memories of the Future That Wasn't.

" _Imagine how effective she could be if she trained with Viper,"_ he joked. He could _feel_ Verde shudder on the other end.

" _Do not even joke about that. I positively_ loathe _being stuck in this backwater time... unfortunately I can't pay tuition for a proper magically dense environment to play with."_

" _Which country are you in? If you're that hard up on gold I can act as your sponsor and claim we ran into each other during Christmas,"_ said Skull seriously.

" _I'm in Germany at the moment, but it would be a simple matter to leave and come to England. And how exactly would you be able to pay for my so-called 'education'? Formal magical schooling isn't cheap."_

 _"I'm already paying for Viper, and my tuition was paid in full by my parents before they died. It's not like I'm using the gold anyway, and I can afford it."_

Dead silence.

" _Pure blood?"_

" _You know those ridiculous stories about the 'Boy-Who-Lived'?"_

" _They are positively ludicrous and it's clear no one has ever bothered to get a proper interview. Though I would love to have a chance to examine his curse scar."_

" _Wouldn't do you any good... I got rid of the parasite in the scar almost a week after I settled in my younger body. But if you really want to mess with that sort of thing, if only to find more interesting ways of purging those foul artifacts without destroying the host, I know of a few you can have,"_ said Skull, waiting for that to sink in.

" _You sound like you have... Wait. What do you mean you 'purged' the scar already?! How would you have gotten close to the boy when no one is aware where he lives?!"_

Skull was positively grinning evilly now.

" _Come on Verde, I would have thought you'd at least guessed by now the truth. After all, didn't Reborn bitch that I was practically a_ woman _with how often I messed around with make up?"_

Dead silence, before Verde started swearing loudly in Italian as he figured out what Skull wasn't saying.

" _I am coming to that school and you are going to help me with my experiments,"_ he said dead seriously.

" _Not sure my immortality is still working. But I do know where you can get your hands on basilisk venom in large quantities... I need to get my old immunity to snake venom back anyway,"_ said Skull far too cheerfully.

Verde grumbled, and hung up. Skull was grinning like the Cheshire cat for _days_ , in between bugging the Lightning and dodging inquiries how he got a phone to work in Hogwarts of all places.

* * *

Blaise was in a foul mood. His mother had remarried and unfortunately his new step-father had the brains to include a pre-nup that all but stated that if his wife or new son tried to kill him then all his money would go to some rather abusive people who hated his mum.

Seeing a familiar head of black hair carrying yet another book from the library, Blaise had an idea. Harry had outright admitted to 'disposing' of his aunt and uncle while neutralizing his cousin without killing the boy. And he _recognized_ some of the titles Harry occasionally brought back to the dorms as books that would almost certainly be in the Restricted Section or at least heavily frowned upon.

Blaise wasn't going to ask _how_ he got past those wards. Mostly because if he asked politely or bribed the other boy with chocolate, Harry didn't mind raiding the restricted shelves for him so long as Blaise kept his mouth shut who had sourced him the books.

"Black, I have a hypothetical question," said Blaise slowly.

Harry paused in his reading, before throwing up privacy wards and barring the door.

" _What do you need?"_ Harry asked.

By common agreement, whenever they spoke about things best not aired in public (like the mafia) they would use code and a foreign language. Which in their case was usually Italian.

" _My step father is being an asshole and has managed to keep my mother from arranging one of her usual 'accidents'. I'm worried it might escalate to violence if things continue, as the man is from a noted social circle with certain 'opinions' about women."_

" _Misogynist?"_ guessed Harry dryly.

" _Of the highest order,"_ confirmed Blaise. Fortunately he was well read enough to know what the term meant. _"You have a knack for being unusually devious. What would you recommend?"_

" _What are the_ exact _terms of the contract that keeps her from dealing with him?"_

" _He has several healers on retainer who are ready and waiting to examine his body if he suddenly turns up dead. If it even remotely looks like she's to blame, then she gets nothing and it all goes to his abusive friends. All the healers in question are_ very _good at forensics and will detect if even a_ hint _of magic is used. However they're not so good with mundane methods of killing, as most are from long pure blood lines."_

Harry looked darkly amused.

" _Well you could always do what I did to deal with my 'relatives',"_ he said.

Blaise listened intently.

" _I took a small bag of flour from the cupboard, then propagated the hell out of it before throwing it into a fan. I also made sure the windows and doors were locked, making it an enclosed room. The biggest headache was cleaning up the flour,"_ said Harry.

" _Flour?"_ repeated Blaise incredulous.

" _Ordinary, common flour,"_ said Harry seriously. He pointed at his chest in the general area of the lungs. _"The lungs have tiny elastic sacks inside them to process the air you breathe. However if you fill a room up with something like flour or cocoa powder, then those sacks get gummed up and can't function properly, which suffocates your victim to death. Or if you really want to get old-school, there's always a blood eagle."_

Blaise stared at him.

" _Common flour, right?"_

" _Make sure that the air is positively filled with the stuff, and that your mum knows to avoid the room until the powder settles. I doubt anyone without mundane medical knowledge would even know what the lungs are_ supposed _to look like, much less figure out that flour is the murder weapon. It's so innocent that not even an Auror would suspect it,"_ said Harry with a straight face.

Blaise, rather than looked disturbed at how Harry might possibly _know_ this sort of thing, looked thoughtful.

He did make sure to pass along Harry's suggestion and the fact that the room had to be filled with the stuff to his mother though. A week later he had the "happy" news that his step father was now dead of unknown causes, but that no magic was found at the site of his death. Why the man would be in the kitchens or have need of such a large quantity of baking ingredients was unknown, but he was noted to have a sweet tooth. Even if it was a pain to clean up all that cocoa powder and flour from the floor.

Blaise's respect for Black shot up considerably when his mother then passed along the news that none of the gold went to that man's friends since there was no way to prove his mother had anything to do with the man's death. After all, why would Circe Zabini have ever stepped foot in the kitchens when it was well known she never cooked a day in her life unless it was potions?

* * *

Camellia looked down when she heard a croak. It was a toad...the poor thing was positively dehydrated and miserable from Scotland's cold weather.

It wasn't really something she shared, but she had a fondness for amphibians. She scooped up the toad without a second thought and took it back to her private room.

(As the Potter/Black Steward, she was allowed to have her own rooms... a fact she took full advantage of.)

The toad croaked happily when she put it in a bowl of clean water that was slightly above room temperature and then gave it some dead flies to eat. It settled in and went straight to napping.

It was a few hours later that she found out who the owner was. Neville Longbottom was a bigger disaster than she was, and a poor pet owner if his toad was in such a sorry state.

Fortunately for the blundering lion, Harry was more than happy to negotiate a trade that worked for both parties.

"How did you get Longbottom to give up his toad?"

"While it was a gift, even he admitted he had no idea how to care for Trevor. Besides, the uncle who gave him the toad was the same one who dropped him out of a window in order to 'scare the magic out of him'," said Harry in disgust. "Good thing I still had those seed packets my Chinese friend gave me when I told him I gardened as a hobby occasionally."

More like his clan was trying very, very hard to curry favor with a powerful wizard who had managed to attract a Feng-Huang. Fon was in high standing among his family because of the fact he was a martial arts prodigy before, but since befriending Skull his star had risen far above even some of his older cousins who were already making names for themselves. As such when Skull mentioned a few of his hobbies, Fon had been more than amused to pass along several rare seeds from his clan.

Skull had given one seed from each of the seven varieties given to him to Neville as 'payment' for his pet. Along with the brief list of soil and water requirements that had come with them.

Which made all the parties involved happy. Viper got a new pet she liked (she was allergic to cats), Neville got some rare seeds to play with, and Skull earned a lot of brownie points among the lions because of the "fair deal".

Her new toad happily made a point of staying on Viper's head whenever he felt like roaming the castle. Viper didn't seem to mind in the least, which only made Skull hide a snicker and wonder where she got in the habit of carrying _frogs_ around on her head in the first place.

When he asked that question, Viper had an annoyed look on her face.

"My other cousins thought it _hilarious_ to dump frogs on the girls all the time. So as payback I decided to start keeping them as pets... eventually it got to the point where I barely even registered them if they happened to be on my person," she replied.

Skull laughed outright.

"Everyone has their hobbies."

"Adrenaline junkie," scoffed Viper with fondness.

Skull had damn near given Madam Hooch and McGonagall a heart attack when instead of listening to the instructions on how to fly properly, he had decided to use the ancient broom to do insane stunts with.

Blaise had cursed him out in Italian for hours after it, but it was clear he had been amused from the reactions of the teachers.

Snape told him in no uncertain terms he was never allowed to fly a broom alone again... he would have to get his fix on the Quidditch pitch. Marcus Flint was no fool and had quickly booted the current seeker off the team (with Pucey's agreement) and put Skull in his place.

Slytherin was almost a shoo-in for the cup with how reckless Skull was on a broom. He was just surprised Snape had shelled out the coin for a Nimbus 2000 and quietly had it delivered to his dorm room within a week of him placing as the new seeker.

He was a lot more subtle about it than McGonagall had been, that was for sure.

"Aw, you know you love me," said Skull grinning while walking backwards.

"As much as it _pains_ me to admit it, I am fond of you," countered Viper. "You're the only cousin I can actually stand that doesn't piss me off regularly."


	7. Chapter 7

**Messed with the timeline a bit. Also, there is one scene that was too funny to leave until tomorrow to post, so DOUBLE UPDATE!**

* * *

"You are an idiot," said Blaise.

"Yup."

"That was stupid on the level only a _Gryffindor_ should be able to manage without being killed," said Viper.

"Absolutely."

"You're not even listening to us rant about your safety, are you?" asked Blaise suspiciously.

"Not in the least," confirmed Skull with a snicker.

Blaise and Viper shared a look, before coming to a silent agreement.

"OW!"

"Do not do that again, especially not without giving us a head's up," said Viper, feeling much better after slapping Skull on the head.

"On an unrelated note I think you gave McGonagall more gray hairs, to say nothing of the twins."

Skull had, when his broom started to buck wildly during the match, used his years as a stuntman and on a broom to angle his flight path _sans_ broom onto one of the twin's brooms. All while snagging the Snitch mid-fall.

Fred about had a heart attack when he felt something latch onto the back of his broom, only to find a wildly grinning Harry Potter with the gold ball in his hand winking at him.

"That was _fun_ ," said Skull, cackling like an idiot.

He was the immortal stuntman. A fall from that height with multiple places to potentially land without dying barely rated a "meh".

"If you die, we will laugh at your grave," deadpanned Blaise.

"If I die, then I want someone to show up dressed like a dementor wannabe and a scythe and look menacingly at people in a pointed fashion before calmly stating in a grave tone 'Relax, I'm just here for cake. I'll be back for you next week.'" said Skull.

Viper's lips quirked upward as her annoyed mood started to dissipate.

" _And if it's a funeral with the other side?"_ she asked in Italian making it clear what she meant.

" _Then come dress as the Vindice, or better yet actually_ invite _them for free food. I bet they'd get a kick out of freaking everyone out just because they were there,"_ said Skull without missing a beat.

Blaise choked.

"You are an insane son of a bitch, and I'll question anyone who states differently."

"Come on, you know it would be hilarious having them at a party just to freak everyone else out."

"Please don't, or a least never do it without giving me fair warning in time to get cameras to capture blackmail," said Blaise in a pained whine.

His mother was going to love this idiot, if for no other reason than his craziness gave her several months worth of hilarious gossip and almost certain blackmail.

Skull laughed like an idiot.

"Besides, there is a method to my madness."

"You have a method?" said Viper dubiously.

Skull's grin turned slightly vicious.

"The more like a Gryffindor I act, the less people are going to expect moves worthy of a Slytherin from me. They'll continue to see me as the suicidal, misplaced lion instead of the snake in plain sight."

Blaise... was reluctantly impressed with the move.

"That is both brilliant and absolutely ridiculous."

Everyone was so busy assuming he was a misplaced Gryffindor that they'd never realize what he was really doing until the dust had long since settled. He was deliberately using the persona of the "Golden Savior" that everyone had built up around him despite this being his first real interaction with the magical enclaves since that night as a cover.

All the while his web was steadily becoming stronger until they created a noose with which to hang his enemies with.

"When exactly are you going to declare yourself a Black instead of a Potter? At this point you'd just need to make it official."

"Probably around the time the old fucker realizes I've been outmaneuvering his little plots to use me against Riddle...so sometime around fourth or fifth year."

"I don't know whether to love you or hate you," said Blaise honestly. The sheer level of headaches and amusement Harry brought into play made it hard to stick with one or the other.

"You could have had to deal with Draco being the Slytherin Prince and walking around like he owned the place simply because of his father, rather than the one trying to find a new way to stay ahead in the unspoken status quo of Slytherin inter-house politics because there's someone around to keep his ego in check and remind him that he's has to contend with the heir of his mother's family being displeased if he acts like an embarrassment," deadpanned Skull.

Blaise went completely stone faced.

"Dear gods, the mere _idea_ of having to deal with his pathetic attempts to emulate his father without you to reign him in is already giving me nightmares."

Draco had to reign in his ego and his behavior around others. Harry took him to task with a _Look_ that made the idiot curb his tongue.

Blaise wouldn't be surprised if Harry got a very nice "thank you" from Narcissa come Christmas for keeping her son in line and not embarrassing the ancient and noble house of Black.

* * *

"Troll! Troll in the dungeons! Thought you ought to know..." said Quirrel in a state of panic...before he realized with some disbelief that the great hall was completely empty. "Where is everyone?"

"...It's three in the morning. What's this about a troll?" said Snape irate. "And where the bloody hell have you been for the last week and a half?!"

"What?" said Quirrel baffled.

"You have been _missing_ for the past ten days. We were just about to arrange a schedule to cover your classes, thinking something had eaten you," said Snape annoyed. "Now what is this about a troll?"

As Quirrel tried to come up with a plausible excuse for his absence, the shade of Voldemort in the back of his skull was trying to figure out how the hell they lost ten days without knowing it.

 _In Slytherin..._

"Told you that aerosol version of Draught of the Living Death would work," said Skull smugly.

"Why Quirrel though?"

"He's been killing unicorns. I figured this would give the Centaurs a chance to move them deeper away from the easier to access parts of the forest without him being able to follow."

Bane had been pissed...for all of five minutes until Skull told him point blank why he was in the forest and what he wanted them to do. Realizing he was giving them a chance to remove the unicorns from harm's way, the centaurs had reluctantly helped.

Mostly because Skull was actually _respectful_ to them and was polite about it.

Though Bane still hated humans, Skull could tell he had earned a bit of respect from Firenze...who agreed to keep the fact he had gone into the forest quiet from Hagrid and the headmaster.

Blaise stared at him, before stating "I don't want to know."

"Then you're not interested in the fact Hagrid has his pet Cerberus up on the third floor?" asked Skull, tilting his head.

"WHAT?!"

"Got a name tag and everything," said Skull nodding to himself. "Though really, Fluffy is a ridiculous name for a massive hell hound with three heads that slobbers. At least _Fang_ is somewhat respectable for a dog."

Fluffy had whined when Skull visited him, though at the complete lack of fear and the dominant tone of Skull's voice, he had gone from snarling monster to complete lapdog. After all the monsters he had faced in his life, a three headed dog that wasn't even trained to be vicious wasn't that scary in the least. The poor thing was positively attention starved and devoured all the love Skull was giving him. It didn't hurt that Skull enlarged three massive bones for the dog to chew on... Fluffy's tail had been wagging enough to act as a makeshift broom with how happy that pooch was with the treat.

Blaise stared at him, before stating flatly "I don't want to know or be dragged into whatever involves a gods be damned Cerberus."

" _If you think that's bad, Dumbledore borrowed something from Talbot and never gave it back like he promised. He's using it as bait for the thing hiding under Quirrel's turban,"_ said Skull cheerfully.

Skull had taken a proper look at the so-called Philosopher's Stone before realizing what it _actually_ was. It was clearly a faulty stone from Talbot's collection used to channel flames.

And since Skull knew for a _fact_ Dumbledore didn't know about Flames (he would have had it banned simply because it involved soul magic if he had), he wouldn't have been able to identify what the stone could actually do.

He had to admit, giving Dumbledore a faulty blood ruby for channeling Storm Flames was brilliant. Clearly Talbot had the old goat's number for a while if he pulled something like this.

Blaise made a pained noise in the back of his throat.

One that only got worse when Hedwig returned with a very annoyed look at her Master as she dropped a scroll on his lap.

Skull unraveled it and started cackling.

"I don't want to know. I don't want to know," said Blaise, making it his new mantra.

"I think Talbot likes me," he said gleefully.

"..."

Talbot, once he realized what was in the rather delightful box of mixed chocolates and the note, had sent a reply back stating that Skull was welcome to crash at his house come the summer. Along with a pendant that would allow him past the wards, though it was a one-time thing that had to be keyed by adding his blood which rendered it useless to anyone else. Skull had pricked his finger with the sharp part of the pendant before slipping it under his shirt with a grin.

It wouldn't surprise him in the least if Talbot, or rather "Nicholas Flamel" would know that Skull had somehow time traveled by accident.

* * *

"Mr. Black, a word," said Snape. It was the day before the train was due to take everyone to London for the holidays.

"Judging by the look on your face I'm going to assume the old bastard found out I was planning to leave the castle for Christmas and wants me to stick around for some reason," deadpanned Skull.

"...Actually yes."

"How would you like to completely frustrate the senile old fucker while being completely honest about the fact you weren't in on what I plan to do for the holidays?"

"I'm listening," said Snape.

"Leave your personal floo unsecured around the time you go on patrol tonight. If pressed any member of the house will claim I was working on an extra potions assignment designed to improve my grades in class before the holidays are over and that there's no way I could have possibly broken into your personal office to get to Knockturn and out of his reach," said Skull.

"...Why Knockturn?"

"Because very few people are aware that due to a glitch in the Floo system, if you say 'diagonally' instead of Diagon Alley properly you end up in Borgins and Burkes."

He already had plans to acquire the other half of the Vanishing Cabinet once he was in the store. No way in hell was he allowing the easily exploitable loophole in the school wards to remain outside his personal control.

He had managed to track down a second working set of cabinets and was surprised to find out that they still worked even if one half was inside an expanded trunk. So long as they were intact, _where_ they were didn't matter.

Snape looked at him hard.

"What's in it for me?"

"I'll give you a recipe designed to control the beastly side of werewolves. It tastes like shit, but if ingested before the transformation they have full control of their mental faculties as if they were still human. Unfortunately sugar renders it useless," said Skull immediately. "And I have the perfect tag line that will certainly amuse you if people ask why you made it."

Snape raised a single eyebrow.

"Tell the press you wanted to 'stop the unchecked spread of the worst case of communicable menstrual cycle you've ever seen'," said Skull with a straight face.

Snape gaped at him in disbelief.

"What?" he said in a choked voice.

"As far as I can tell, the only difference between werewolves and a woman on her period is the fact that they turn furry and tend to lick their balls," deadpanned Skull with a perfectly straight face. "Makes you wonder if all they really need is some Midol."

Snape stared at Skull, before something amazing happened. One could almost call it a "Christmas Miracle" if it were actually Christmas.

Snape started laughing. Gut-wrenching, unchecked laughter the likes he hadn't enjoyed in far too long. The look on Lupin's face _alone_ would make creating such a potion completely worth it, especially if he heard exactly what his friend's son thought of werewolves.

Hell, _Grayback's_ reaction would make it completely worth it.

"You have a deal, Black," he said once he got over his laughter. Which took about fifteen minutes.

Skull cheerfully shook Snape's hand with a grin. This was way too much fun.

 _Later that night..._

"How the hell did you convince _Snape_ to let you break into his office?" asked Blaise baffled.

"Told him I had a potion that would give werewolves some control over their mind during their furry phase once a month," said Skull.

"Uh-huh. What did you really do?" asked Viper dubiously.

"Made him laugh so hard there were tears coming down his face for fifteen full minutes. I swear he was still snickering darkly when I left," replied Skull without hesitation.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but what did you say to him that got him to laugh like that?" asked Blaise, pinching his nose.

"Told him the only difference between a werewolf and a woman on her period was that a werewolf turns furry and has a tendency to lick their balls...and that maybe all they really needed was a bottle of Midol," said Skull with a straight face.

Viper turned to _stare_ at him, her mouth opening and shut for a few moments, before she threw up her hands exasperated.

"The sad thing is that I can see it," she said in defeat. Because really, that comparison wasn't even _that_ far off.

"Snape was almost bitten by a werewolf when he was about sixteen so he really doesn't like them. Hence why I made that comment," said Skull.

"Ouch. So where are we going?"

"Borgin's and Burke's. Just throw in the Floo powder and said 'diagonally' instead of 'Diagon Alley' and it'll drop you there," said Skull. "You did owl your mother we were coming right?"

Blaise nodded, filing away that tidbit for later.

He took a respectful handful of the green powder, before tossing it in the flames and repeating what Skull told him to do. Viper followed soon after with Skull going last.

Blaise gave Skull a side-long look when he realized the other boy wasn't joking about where the floo came out.

"How did you know that trick?"

"Accidentally came here instead of Diagon once," said Skull shrugging. "Ah, it looks like someone's still here. Good."

Blaise looked at Viper as Skull went up to the register and a few hushed whispers followed. The wizard looked dubious, but he readily agreed to the terms and Skull handed over a decent sack of galleons.

"What in Morgana's name did you purchase _here_ of all places?!" demanded Viper.

"The cabinet over there," said Skull, pointing. With the watchful gaze of the clerk on him, Skull carefully moved his new cabinet into the suitcase he had charmed using several spells he got from Newt Scamander. The man was a Charm's Master, not that many people were aware of that fact. Anyone who could hold as many environments in his suitcase without the entire thing collapsing and still add more had to be a genius at it.

He certainly hadn't minded sharing how to make a suitcase like his for a chance to examine Lark properly and asking all sorts of questions about the bird. That the suitcase allowed Skull far more freedom when it came to traveling was just a major bonus and made his Cloud-induced wanderlust very happy, since it meant he could almost literally set up anywhere and still enjoy the comforts of a proper bed and bath.

"How much did you spend on that piece of junk?" demanded Viper.

"About a hundred galleons," said Skull.

"What?!" hissed Viper.

"Trust me, when you find out what this thing does you'll consider it a bargain price," said Skull once they were safely outside Knockturn. No one was really looking at them, thanks to Viper's use of her Mist. "If that idiot knew what this thing actually _is_ and where it goes, he wouldn't have let it go that easily."

Blaise stared at him, before pinching his nose.

"Please for the love of magic tell me that you didn't just purchase a _vanishing cabinet_ of all things in that shop."

"Would you like a comforting lie, or...?"

Blaise made a pained sound.

"I know I'm going to regret asking, but do you even know where the other half leads or even if it's still functional?"

Skull had a positively wicked grin.

"Oh it's still functional... and when you find out where the other half is, you'll understand why I was more than happy to shell out so much gold. I am _soooo_ going to exploit the hell out of this thing," he cackled, while rubbing his hands eagerly.

About five minutes later, Blaise's mother found them at the prearranged spot. She was rather pleased with her son's choice in friends.


	8. Chapter 8

_Blaise POV_

Blaise groaned when the sun hit his eyes.

He wondered why there were so many bottles of actual alcohol around him...until he remembered what Harry had revealed the night before and then he knew why.

Black had the strangest luck in existence...and was entirely too happy to use it to give his friends and closest confidant's headaches from exasperation.

Harry had cheerfully shoved Blaise into his newly acquired vanishing cabinet, only for the half-Italian to come out and attempt to strangle him for not giving him any warning. Finding out the bloody thing was a direct way into Hogwarts without tripping any of the wards by hearing Filch yelling at the twins was not what he was expecting.

Though once Camellia heard where it lead, she had agreed immediately that the idiot clerk had let it go far too easily. All the better for them, because thanks to the cabinet they could easily maintain the ruse that they were still in the castle without the headmaster being aware that they were visiting other countries over break.

Harry, damn him, was still looking as fresh as a daisy despite having drunk more than any of them save his own mother had.

"I loathe you," said Blaise with heat.

Black, being a complete bastard, was holding a vial of a potion Blaise wasn't inclined to identify at the moment. It could be a deadly poison for all he cared with how his head was pounding.

Wonder of wonders, it was a hang over remedy.

"And suddenly I'm not inclined to brutally murder you in your sleep, it's a miracle."

Harry snickered at him.

"Well this is a rather interesting scenario you've found yourself in, Skull," said an unfamiliar voice dryly. "One would be hard pressed to believe you were once considered the Lackey."

"Like they would have believed I could kick their ass considering I wasn't previously involved like they were. If you recall, I got a crash course on Flames once that person picked me," he said rolling his eyes.

"Black... who or what is that?" demanded Blaise, the potion finally kicking in properly that he could think again.

"Blaise, meet Verde. Verde, this is my Left Hand Blaise Zabini. Yes, those Zabinis. Of course you partially know my cousin and Right hand Camellia."

"Camellia?" said Verde with a strange sort of delight.

"You didn't really think her name was a snake, did you?" he asked amused.

Verde looked far too amused by this revelation... because there was little doubt Camellia was a girl. And if she wasn't, then it meant he had quite a bit of blackmail on "him" for having such a feminine name.

They never did figure out Viper's gender the last time.

"How _did_ you end up shunted here anyway?" asked Harry to Verde.

Verde had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed.

"I got my hands on the Bovino's special ammo and was experimenting with it and a faulty time turner... the damn thing went off and set off a chain reaction with the time turner and the next thing I knew I was six again," he said irritably. "If I could replicate that one in a thousand resonance between the two..."

"You'd have to wait for the Bovino to make the thing first," Harry reminded them. Verde grumbled at that. "Look at the bright side... you can recreate the box weapons earlier than before."

Verde scoffed, before tossing Harry a box, which was purple in color.

Harry's face went absolutely delighted when he opened it.

"You do love me!" he said happily, snuggling with the oddly shaped lop-earred rabbit. He'd recognize "With" from one of his favorite series anywhere.

"Fortunately for you, I managed to figure out how to make that deranged hybrid before I was killed," said Verde annoyed. "If you channel your Cloud into the rabbit, he turns into the same animal from that series you liked so much. And before you ask, yes I am still working on replicating that game that you drove me nuts with."

Skull snickered... he had an addiction to the Pokémon series and had driven Verde absolutely bonkers with it whenever he could. They _almost_ had a working Porygon until some idiot hacker deleted it by accident.

"You have the weirdest sense of pets. I swear you're building a bloody menagerie at this point," said Blaise bluntly. "First an Asian phoenix, then the owl and now a rabbit."

"I'm planning to see if Hagrid will let me keep Fluffy," Skull confided. He loved animals and nothing said "Back off Bitches" like a massive three headed beast of a hell hound growling at you. And best of all if he brought Fluffy out in the mafia they'd immediately assume "Mist Illusion" and not actual Cerberus. It was going to be _hilarious_.

"I do _not_ want to know or be brought into whatever madness you have planned Black. Not unless you can promise me some damn good blackmail and that I won't have to actually _do_ anything," said Blaise bluntly.

Verde, if that was his name, gave Harry an incredulous look.

"What the hell have you been doing now you idiot?"

Blaise, sensing another person who might help reign in Black's blatant insanity, decided to vent on some of the things the idiot had done. And the school year hadn't even concluded yet!

Verde's jaw dropped and he began to pinch his nose in exasperation. Blaise could commiserate, completely.

"You clearly need a proper minder if you're resorting to _Reborn_ -levels of chaos," he said flatly.

"Just wait until you see him later," said Harry evilly. "He's so adorably _naive_... I actually gave him his first fedora. And Fon is like a Stormy version of Hibari!"

Verde's eyebrows shot up at that.

"This I have to see."

"I have a pensieve," said Harry gleefully.

"Share. Now. Before I use you as potion ingredients," said Verde with vindictive glee.

The look on his face when he came out of the bowl sent familiar shivers down Blaise's spine. It was like the green-haired wizard (and if Verde wasn't a strong active Lightning he'd ask to be resorted to Hufflepuff) had been given the world's best blackmail on someone.

The meeting with Camellia was slightly odd, but she quickly liked Verde... if for no other reason than having him around seemed to settle something in Black's erratic behavior.

* * *

Verde and Skull were watching the amusing interaction of a much younger Fon and Viper. Viper wasn't nearly as jaded from years of being rejected by the world she had grown up with and being forced to survive all on her own in the mafia because she was an Active Mist. And Fon showed more emotions than just the fake serene state he had maintained.

As such the two were showing their honest emotions and it was clearer than ever that there was some sort of potential romantic connection between them. One that could grow if nurtured correctly.

"How did you find out Viper was your _cousin_?" asked Verde finally. Because that had been bugging him.

"I was pissed off because the English enclaves were trying to force me into marrying a 'nice witch of acceptable breeding' and sire a bunch of brats to inherit my titles and gold, so I asked Viper if she knew of some way of dealing with the idiots since she had me pegged as a wizard the day we first met. I was her source for getting potion ingredients, so I figured she was safe to ask even if she was going to gouge me for it. Then she found out _which_ families I belonged to and nearly threw a total bitch fit until she let slip the fact she was a squib from the Black family."

Verde stared, and Skull continued.

"It took her a month to rip them a new one, though you should have seen the shocked look on her face when she found out I had reinstated her into the family the second I learned she was one of my cousins," said Skull. "It pisses me off that they dumped her in Italy because she was an Active Mist from an early age, rather than try to encourage her limited magical core."

At least go around he had gotten to her in time to keep her from suffering because of the purebloods behavior towards squibs.

"So the puffed up rooster showed off when one of the envoys was visiting your clan?" Skull asked Fon, mostly to clarify what had started this mess.

"He was _very_ startled when he realized what he had mistook for a mere decoration was an actual Feng-Huang sunning on the roof," said Fon. "It didn't take long before they sent someone to confirm he wasn't hallucinating and I had to explain that the one it was bonded with had asked me to keep it safe from the Western fools who wouldn't understand the full implications of what having that particular bird meant."

That had actually surprised the envoy a great deal and earned some major brownie points with the Emperor. Not only did it elevate Fon's clan higher in his eyes, but it also said a great deal about how much Skull trusted Fon.

Skull made an exasperated noise.

"Though I can only imagine the Emperor will be very taken aback by the way you act around Lark," said Fon with amusement.

"He's a puffed up rooster with an already over-sized ego," deadpanned Skull. "Someone needs to bring him back down to earth and I am not about to cater to his every whim or spoil him by acting all reverent to a bloody bird."

Fon hid a smile. He was getting better at disguising his emotions, but he wasn't quite there yet.

"So how many is he allowed to bring with him?" asked Blaise.

"The very most he would be able to bring is two," admitted Fon. "Preferably myself and his cousin."

"Me?" said Viper in surprise.

"You are both his Right Hand and the only kin he brought along with him," explained Fon. "And they will likely assume that your knowledge of Chinese customs is limited, so I will be able to explain things to you. Even though Skull already speaks Chinese with a surprising fluency."

Verde snorted at that. It wasn't that surprising... most of the Arcobaleno had picked up on Mandarin and some Cantonese in order to make sure Fon wasn't mocking them or saying derisive things about them behind their backs in his native tongue just so he could get away with it. Not that he ever _did_ , but at that point they had learned it anyway since you never knew when having another language under your belt could be useful.

Skull had learned it first... Verde was quite miffed upon learning that he had cheated by getting a Chinese snake and picking it up via parselmagic. Though Fon's reaction when he heard Skull speak in a rather odd dialect of Chinese the next time they had a meeting had been hilarious... even if the martial artist had been quick to remedy Skull's accent the first chance he had.

"So what exactly should we expect once we're there?"

"It's hard to tell," admitted Fon. "Just try not to offend the Emperor too much, please?"

Skull snorted.

"That shouldn't be a problem. So long as he doesn't try to put me in a gilded cage 'for my own good' or any other reason I should be able to hold my temper. He does know about Flames, right?"

"He is definitely aware," said Fon.

"You can act polite?" said Blaise incredulous. A sentiment that Fon was amused to find Viper agreeing with.

"I was caged for most of my life," said Skull flatly. "I mostly let the side you're used to out to keep the old bastard from realizing how much of a snake I really am."

Blaise clearly didn't believe it for a second, having too much experience with the wild side of "Harry Black".

Viper looked like she was reserving judgment entirely until she saw it for herself.

* * *

Skull had a very _pained_ expression on his face.

Why did his luck insist on throwing crap like this on him? Blaise was going to be positively _insufferable_ when he found out.

If there was ever a time he hated all that crappy Vongola propaganda when it came to Flame types and their roles, now would be it.

"What's so bad about having a Sky and Sun secondary?" asked Viper. Honestly, she didn't see why her cousin was this unhappy about the news.

Most people would love to find out they had such a rare and coveted type.

Skull made an unhappy whine in the back of his throat.

"Because thanks to all the way the Vongola go on and on about Skies being natural _leaders,_ the second anyone in the Cosa Nostra find out I have a Sky secondary they're going to try and shove me into a role I want no part of. I'm HAPPY being a strong Cloud... shouldn't that be enough?" said Skull openly depressed.

He had a good idea what happened to his secondary the first time around, which would explain why he never knew until that very extensive test that he even had any Sky.

He had been broken in more ways than one after the war. It was possible most of his secondary had taken a good hit or completely shattered from when he martyred himself, but were reset when he was sent back by accident. And he had never learned about Flames until _after_ he completely reinvented himself as Skull de Mort, immortal stuntman.

Fon didn't look particularly surprised at the revelation. Instead he looked rather pleased, all told.

"At least the Emperor didn't try to keep you in the palace," said Viper.

Skull had managed to avert that particular disaster by pointing out several counterarguments which no one could really refute.

Like the fact the English would raise a major stink about losing their "Savior", the way Dumbledore was paying far too much attention to the way Skull acted and what went on in his life, and of course there was the simple fact that Skull absolutely hated the idea of being caged in any way.

No matter how nice the cage was, his Cloud Flames would react quite badly if Skull thought he was being forced into a role he didn't want and would lash out instinctively.

As with Fon's clan, the Emperor settled for a "free pass" to 'crash' in the palace and allowed Skull to peruse the rather large royal library (within reason of course...no need to make it look like they were catering to him because of the Feng-Huang or the fact he had Sky Flames) as well as a seal that pretty much declared Skull had royal favor while within China's boundaries.

So long as Lark was bonded to Skull, the seal would remain valid as it was directly tied to the bird.

Not like he planned on actually _using_ the seal, but it was still a useful thing to have in case of emergencies.

And of course there was the fact that Fon's clan was now in imperial favor simply because Skull had decided to befriend Fon and trusted him enough to take care of Lark. That the bird actually _stayed_ was enough for the Emperor to favor them. A Feng-Huang would never tolerate staying near a dishonorable household, or allow just anyone to care for them.

"You do realize there's a distinct possibility my clan might try to marry one of our females off to you," said Fon amused. If only to tie themselves in a more traditional sense to Skull's line and hopefully produce more like him.

Skull whined again.

"As if I needed more headaches. Actually I _do_ have an idea of a compromise if that ever does come up, though I would rather wait until it becomes an issue," said Skull.

If that ever did happen he was so throwing Viper under the bus. Especially if her attraction to Fon got stronger, rather than pass like any other crush.

At least he had gotten the situation under control in a way that both sides mostly happy.


	9. Chapter 9

Skull was so very tempted to bang his head against the cold stone of the castle walls. Only the fact that Blaise would notice it and demand an explanation with an exasperated voice kept him from doing so.

That and Nott was still in the room.

They had 'returned' to the castle long enough to get their Christmas presents (the house elves weren't fooled in the least by the way they were getting around, likely chalking it up to school boy antics since they weren't doing anything bad) and make an appearance to keep up the ruse they hadn't actually _left_ school grounds, and Skull had rather gleefully opened up the package he knew damn well came from Dumbledore.

Only to find the Elder wand and the Stone falling out of the folded up cloak. The second he picked the items up in disbelief, he felt the connection that he had thought lost when he traveled back.

His life, why? It was like he was turning into an overpowered character out of a manga. Preferably not _Dragonball Z_... he refused to suddenly gain massive man pecks by screaming his lungs out or turning into a freaking gorilla by looking at the moon, regardless of how fond Fon was of monkeys.

Skull sighed in exasperation, before doing the sensible thing.

He took the overpowered wand and the stone...and tossed them in a drawer inside his suitcase that he promptly locked and forgot about. He didn't _need_ either of the items to deal with Voldemort or Dumbledore... in fact if he was caught with them then it would only bring an endless amount of headaches and problems for him at this stage.

Everyone underestimated the loudmouth, brash idiot. The teachers all took one look at his behavior and immediately assumed he was a green-eyed clone of his father and dismissed his actions entirely, save for Snape. No one looked too deeply into what he was really doing and he preferred it that way.

Reborn might be the world's greatest hit man (or would be, anyway), but Skull was the world's most unassuming assassin. If Reborn had even an _inkling_ of the skill set Skull had, he would have felt like his title was being challenged by the man they had all dismissed as the uninformed, cowardly lackey. He thrived in the shadows, mostly as a product of how he had been raised and the way he had fought in the war.

Oh well. That was one headache he wouldn't have to rectify later, even if Dumbledore was guaranteed to have a panic attack trying to find out what the hell happened to his 'special' wand once he realized it was missing. So long as Skull didn't deviate from his usual behavior in the school, it was unlikely the old bastard would realize where it went. That and the fact Skull had the perfect defense by using his previous memories with a few alterations that the old man was unlikely to detect.

He had to adjust them for Slytherin settings, but by this point the Slytherin tower was just as familiar to him as the Gryffindor one had been in his previous life as a Hogwarts student.

Skull flopped back on his bed. He would go and 'investigate' the mirror before he took Viper with him to see it... Blaise had made it clear he wanted no part in any more 'adventures' on Christmas, so he'd refrain from taking the other Cloud with him for now. Unless Viper mentioned it and he wanted to see the mirror for himself.

* * *

 _Later that night..._

Viper took one look at the mirror and was immediately suspicious, rather than enraptured. It didn't take much for her to guess the actual trap of the mirror.

"How exactly did you managed to find the infamous Mirror of the Erised?"

"I call it Potter luck. I'll tell you what I see if you tell me what your 'desire' is."

Last time he had seen a family he had never known, but had always yearned for. He hadn't even bothered to try it out, as he wanted back up in case it was something he wasn't ready to handle.

"Fair enough," said Viper.

She knew that information was power, and her cousin was more than happy to indulge her natural inclination for information brokering while keeping her shielded from the more powerful and dangerous players until she was strong enough to defend herself.

She tolerated it for multiple reasons, but the main one was rather simple.

Skull didn't protect her because she was a girl or because he thought he could use her later. He did it simply because he actually _cared_ and because they were _family_. To him it didn't matter one whit if she was a powerful witch or a terrifyingly effective Mist. He was simply happy to have her exactly as she was, unvarnished.

It was little wonder he was a Cloud with such a strong Sky secondary.

Though it hadn't taken long for Viper to realize Skull had a bit of a cuddling habit when he was feeling vulnerable... she was quick to take shameless advantage of it, if only to keep her favorite cousin protected from the snake pit that was Slytherin. If they even _thought_ they could get one over the vibrant light that was her cousin, they wouldn't hesitate to try and take advantage of him.

Blaise easily deflected some of the more dangerous players whenever Skull got into that state, as he had been equally quick to pick up on that habit.

Viper looked in the mirror...and was very confused by what she saw.

There was an androgynous figure standing before her with triangle tattoos down their cheeks under each eye. There was an aura of mystery around them, almost like a gypsy except with far less gaudy decorations. They were wearing a hooded outfit that had a strange black frog on their head. Beside them was a vague shadow of someone in red with long black braided hair and an aura of serene confidence and a white figure that almost looked like a monkey of some sort.

As she tried to describe what she was seeing to Harry, she noticed something odd in his gaze.

He _recognized_ the description. He knew who that figure was, but was keeping his silence.

So she stood aside and let Harry take a look.

There was an oddly tired, yet wistful expression in his gaze.

"I see me with a motorcycle looking like a punk with purple-hair and piercings, with a few others beside me. There's a strange sense of not-quite camaraderie between us as they're looking at me somewhat exasperated, but at the same time protective," he said quietly.

He saw himself as Skull de Mort, the Immortal Stuntman and Cloud Arcobaleno without the curse. The others were in their adult forms (sans the Sky) looking at him with fond exasperation, but there was a distinct sense of _belonging_ with them. Of having finally found comrades that wouldn't betray him on a whim or treat him like some sort of commodity that could be treated however they liked simply because no one actually _cared_ about his opinions or feelings.

As abusive as Reborn had been, or the disjointed way their entire group had felt, it was still the first time he had been part of _anything_ without having to be the one in charge or the one who always had to save the others. They might have dismissed him as the Lackey, or kicked him around, but he was _their_ Cloud and they would still bash some heads in if he genuinely needed their help in getting out of a mess. They were competent in their own right and perfectly capable of cleaning up their own damn mess without dragging him into it.

Unlike the others, he didn't really mind the curse. It was one of the lesser evils that had been inflicted on him over the course of his life and he had gotten something close to trustworthy friends out of the deal, even if he did get kicked around a lot by Reborn and Colonello.

He was allowed to just be _Skull_ , the lackey and 'weakest' of the Arcobaleno without any added pressure on top of that.

He barely registered the fact Viper was hugging him, or that he was crying.

He _missed_ just being Skull. Of being just _done_ with the sheer idiocy of the magical enclaves and not having to save their sorry asses from their own hypocrisy. He missed being relatively anonymous and not being put on a pedestal or being hated whenever he was actually himself and not what they demanded he be.

Skull barely registered heading back to the Slytherin tower, or the fact Viper pulled him to one of the long couches to let him lay his head down in her lap. She was crooning something in Gaelic, a lullaby of some sort as he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Blaise noted the way his friend (as much as Harry vexed the hell out of him, he was still his best friend) was acting rather mopey.

"What happened?" he practically demanded of Camellia.

"He found the Mirror of the Erised in the castle. Something about what he saw affected him more than he expected."

He was not happy. Harry should be a loud, obnoxious idiot who got on Blaise's nerves while at the same time being a protective bastard of those he was close to. Not this tired wizard who merely went through the motions. He hadn't even left the tower once, for Maeve's sake!

It was time to call in the big guns. Namely some strong whiskey and a place where they could get some privacy.

Blaise didn't even look that surprised when Harry hit the bottle, hard. It wasn't until he was halfway through a second one that Blaise slowly broached the topic of what Harry had seen.

"I saw myself in a few years. Loki, I wish I didn't have to put up with this shit a second time. Wasn't the first time bad enough? Why the fuck do I have to go through puberty _twice_ on top of dealing with that senile fucker?!"

Harry whined, and took a longer pull of the whiskey. Blaise said nothing, allowing Harry to rant until he had vented whatever the it was that had been troubling him.

It was far more informative than trying to ask directly... Harry was extremely good at being a cagey bastard who told half-truths if he felt the need.

The idea of Black having somehow been slingshot back into his younger self wasn't _that_ far-fetched. He had plenty of samples of what Harry called "Potter Luck" the past few months alone to make it very believable.

However listening to even a fraction of what Harry was implying painted some very dark implications about what was in store for them in the future. At the very least Blaise now had a very strong reason to avoid Riddle.

Quite a few pure blood families had been horrified upon learning exactly what sort of man they had been following under the assumption he would 'purge' the muggleborns from their society and make it 'pure' again.

The "Midnight Marauder" had pointed out that the "Dark Lord" had been more inclined to hand out the Cruciatus curse to his followers than anything substantial. Sure, they had been terrifying the populace of magical UK for the better part of several years, but Voldemort had never successfully managed to hold any substantial territory _outside_ Magical England.

He was also equally quick to purge entire lines simply because they refused to get involved, regardless of how old or pure their blood was. He didn't care who he killed, so long as he even remotely thought they'd stand in his way.

And then came the article explaining exactly _what_ the Dark Mark was and what the requirements were for being considered a member of the "inner circle".

Finding out that the Dark Lord had essentially placed a _slave brand_ on them which meant he could literally force them to hand over their family magics and the contents of their vaults and there was nothing to stop him had come as a very nasty shock for the pure bloods who had been so quick to join the man's banner.

And don't get him started on their reaction to learning the Dark Lord was actually the half-blood son of a squib who had basically used love potions on a _muggle_ lord she fancied. A child who later became a kin-slayer.

Of course Skull hadn't ignored Dumbledore's faults. He had pointed out in a very painful manner that the death toll would have been quite different if Dumbledore had allowed the famous "Order of the Phoenix" to actually _kill_ their opponents rather than capture. There was also a major discrepancy between the time he received information to the time he actually _acted_ on it.

Alastor Moody had been quick to admit he had given the headmaster several key pieces of information during the war, and the man had failed to act on it in a prompt manner which had lead to the death of several Order members.

If the old man had allowed the Order to take out the worst Death Eaters (like the Lestrange trio) then quite a few lines would still be alive today.

Blaise's mind was going into overdrive trying to figure out how to best use this new information. Though it certainly explained a lot of Harry's eccentricities, like the fact he had known about the cabinet in Borgin's and Burke's, or how he was able to easily bypass the restricted section without even trying.

Harry had been treated in a way that would have made any other Cloud snap long ago.

And yet he had managed to survive what could only be described as hell and come out on top. Not because of his rather atrocious luck or because of any skill, but because he was too damn stubborn to lay down and die like they wanted. He took their hits and then came back swinging ten times as hard until they took the hint and left him the hell alone. And when they didn't, then he let loose the infamous rage of a Cloud.

Blaise would be the first to admit that after hearing even a fraction of what Harry experience the first time around, the other boy had his respect.

He easily arranged Black on the bed and let him sleep off the alcohol, after hiding the evidence. He left enough charms to make sure his friend would be able to sleep peacefully, or at least give the boy some advanced warning if someone tried anything while he was out cold.

Then he went downstairs to track down Camellia.

"How bad are we talking about?"

Blaise looked her dead in the eye and said flatly in Italian.

" _After what I just learned, hell will freeze over before I betray him. How he managed to remain sane through that is a miracle,"_ said Blaise.

Camellia winced.

" _However... from what I can tell he will reciprocate any loyalty given to him and only him. He's the rare sort of person that once you have his loyalty, he will move mountains and seas if you ever truly need his help."_

" _Any idea how he knew about the cabinet?"_ she asked.

" _Apparently his luck was so odd that he somehow ended up in his younger body without any warning. Except this time he knew about Flames, so he reacted accordingly and took advantage of the situation. From what he said, it's possible that magic was tired of how badly he got screwed over the first time so he keeps getting hit with unusual situations to increase the power and influence he has to counteract anything the headmaster tries to pull on him."_

Considering the disturbing amount of interest Dumbledore had in Harry, Blaise could believe it. And with how much influence the old man had in the magical enclaves (even with the massive hits to his reputation thanks to the articles), Harry needed any advantage he could get to keep the senile Sky from turning him into a pawn again.

Harry was more or less back to his usual self after Christmas. Though now that they were aware of _how_ he had known about certain things (like the vanishing cabinet or the glitch that lead to Knockturn Alley), they started to pick up on even more little details they hadn't had the proper context for.

By this point Camellia didn't even care that she was her cousin's official cuddle buddy. The number of times he had laid down on her lap with a headache easily reached the double digits.

She took it exactly for what it was. A show of complete and utter trust that she wouldn't hurt him, and that she cared about his health and wellbeing.


	10. Chapter 10

**New poll up, and next chapter I explain who Viper is related to and why she was thrown out.**

* * *

"Ugh... thank the gods that's over with," said Skull with relief. He hated the exams...they were so boring! He had them done in five minutes and knew he'd get a perfect score. He was so above what the first year level was that it was just plain ridiculous.

The second the last exam ended he grabbed his broom and was out like a shot to the open air.

It had taken an _hour_ for Blaise and Viper to get him down from where he was flying like an insane person. They _hated_ it when he flew using his broom as a skateboard.

"Look at the bright side. Three more days before we can all go home," said Blaise.

"It cannot come soon enough," said Skull dramatically.

Spotting the Weasley twins, a wicked gleam came into his eyes.

He sidled up to Fred and George with an expression of angelic innocence.

They looked at each other before grinning, copying his "innocent" expression.

"Gents, how about we liven up the castle before the year ends?" he asked.

"We're listening."

"Do you like dogs?" grinned Skull.

* * *

 _Two hours later..._

"Fluffy! 'Eel!" shouted Hagrid.

Skull was cackling like an idiot while riding the massive dog, Hagrid on their heels trying to stop the hell hound.

"Good boy Fluffy!" he said, patting the dog's heads once he got down.

Hagrid was rather out of breath when he caught up to them. McGonagall looked pissed and Snape looked exasperated.

"DETENTION! And fifty points from Slytherin!"

"We only have three days until the end of term," he reminded her.

"I'll extend it to next year," she growled. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking?"

"This poor pooch has been cooped up all year in that small room! He deserves to let loose and stretch his legs, unless you're willing to put him under a permanent shrinking solution or something," said Skull.

Seeing four pairs of puppy dog eyes (Skull included), McGonagall's mouth thinned. She was not amused.

Hagrid was busy checking over Fluffy. The dog whined when he tried to take him back to the castle.

"Seriously Hagrid, keeping him cooped up with no exercise isn't any good for a dog this big. Now if he was in a case like the one I've heard Newt Scamander had in his younger days when he was writing his book, then it would be a different story, but that room was barely big enough for him," said Skull seriously.

Fluffy eagerly leaned into his touch and it wasn't long before Skull was completely drenched in hell hound spit.

"And I suppose you could take better care of this mutt?" scoffed Snape.

Skull smirked.

"Fluffy, _sit_."

The dog's haunches obediently sat down.

"Lay down."

The front paws went down.

"Do you really want me to say the next one, because you might get squished," commented Skull.

Whenever he was bored, he visited Fluffy and gave him basic obedience training. He wasn't different from any other dog save for the fact he had three heads instead of just one.

Snape pinched his nose.

"Potter, exactly how long have you been visiting this dog?"

"All year, almost. Poor thing was bored and is actually pretty quick to learn basic commands. Would have taught him to fetch but there wasn't nearly enough room for it."

Snape looked at Hagrid, then at his most irritating Snake.

"Why do I have the distinct feeling you're trying to emulate Newt Scamander's habits of collecting odd pets and carrying them around with you?"

"Because you know me and have somehow divined what I plan to do with my life?" said Skull, tilting his head.

Because after the war that was exactly what he had done. Newt had been thrilled to help the boy set up his own traveling animal sanctuary and give him advice on how to become a Mythozoologist. The Ministry was quick to give him a certified license once he proved he could handle dangerous animals without getting eaten or killed, and a permit that allowed him to carry rare and restricted potion ingredients provided he didn't do anything illegal to gain them.

He had built up his own little sanctuary while satisfying his wanderlust, even after being hit with the Arcobaleno curse.

"What are you planning?" demanded McGonagall.

"A way to mitigate what is almost certainly going to be a massive headache for the next seven years," deadpanned Snape.

Skull grinned at Snape.

"I'll act as your supplier once I have the license and permits, in exchange for you looking the other way if I bring my collection with me."

"Deal," said Snape.

Mythozoologists had to get a permit that allowed them to collect and carry restricted or semi-illegal ingredients collected while acting in the name of creature conservation and preservation. It also allowed them to sell said ingredients in exchange for monetary gain so long as most of it went towards the creatures they were protecting.

Newt had caused a lot of specific and interesting laws regarding his hobbies to made after the fact, _especially_ after the debacle in New York. The only reason he hadn't been arrested outright was because he had found a way to do a mass obliviation of the muggles without having to waste the precious time of the obliviation squads.

Skull was whistling to himself. He had found a way to kill his boredom for the summer. He knew that Scamander offered a summer-long apprenticeship for students wishing to pursue a career in creature preservation.

He never _specified_ how old they had to be, so long as they could carry a wand.

* * *

He dodged the spell without even bothering to register there was an attack on his person. Really, whoever shot that had crappy aim!

It took several attempts before he deigned to give his 'attacker' any attention.

Oh, right. Quirrel was still "alive" and so was that shade.

A cold, dark smirk appeared on his face.

"I would say I wouldn't enjoy this, but that would be such a blatant lie that not even I would be able to say it with a straight face," he said cackling in a cold manner. "Shall we play, you hack?"

Skull threw up several wards without thinking too hard or even trying.

If there was one upside to the fact he had been sent back to his younger self, before he had broken, it was that he got to kill Voldemort twice. Maybe even have a go at that asshole Dumbledore too, if he was lucky.

After the crap they put him through, he was going to let his Black heritage out and _enjoy_ this.

Quirrel's dying screams went unheard, and Skull easily rebuffed Voldemort's pissed off shade when it tried to go through him. He left the ashes on the ground and using a little wandless magic, walked up the walls like he was a ninja out of _Naruto_ and went onto the ceiling, resisting the urge to whistle.

If he hadn't spent so much time killing Quirrel, he might have been able to make a proper escape. Instead he stayed long enough to watch Dumbledore's "sad" face and the confused expressions of McGonagall and Snape.

To his surprise, Snape's eyes briefly flickered upward and spotted him. He kept his expression neutral, but there was little doubt he knew who disposed of the possessed fool.

He made his way back to the Slytherin common room... if anyone asked, Blaise and Viper would immediately claim they were with him the entire time.

* * *

"You'll visit often, right?" asked Blaise.

"You really think I'd pass up a chance to make your summer interesting by avoiding you?"

"I take it back, stay away," deadpanned Blaise.

"So where are we going?" asked Viper.

Skull blinked and turned to her with owlish eyes.

"You didn't really think I was going to leave you alone during the summer did you? You're literally the _only_ family I have that even wants me around and actually claims me as such," she said flatly. "Besides, someone has to keep you in line."

"Aw... you do care!" he said, hugging her tightly. Most would assume he was being dramatic again, except she could feel that his surprise and relief was genuine. The hug wouldn't be as tight otherwise.

"So... what's your plan for next year?"

"I plan to rob one idiot's vaults because he'll sign anything with his name if you butter him up enough and then hand it over to my trusty Right Hand," said Skull.

Viper stared at him.

"No one is that thick."

"Ever heard of Gilderoy Lockhart?" asked Skull with a cheeky grin.

Blaise didn't even _try_ to hold back his reaction to the name. He about bust a gut _howling_.

"Gods, let me know when you plan to rob him blind so my mother can be there to see it! That pompous windbag has it coming!" he cackled.

This would make up for practically _everything_ Black had put him through all year!

"I know! Plus I have blackmail on the idiot that would ruin him. Though nowhere near as good as what I have on Skeeter!"

"Details. Now," said Viper.

"These walls have ears. Wait till we're on our summer apprenticeship first," said Skull cheerfully. "Everyone knows blackmail is only as good as the timing and dispersal method used."

"Too true," said Viper nodding. Even Blaise had to agree to that.

Newt was busy for the first two weeks of summer, so they had to find someplace else to go. Fortunately Blaise's mother was more than happy to put up with them for a bit.

 _In an undisclosed location..._

Tired eyes glared at the tapestry with some confusion and irritation. Ever since that nonexistent trial, their family had been on the decline. His heir was locked away, his great niece's daughter turned out to be a squib because of the incompetence of the guards, and the boy was turning out to be far too much like his pathetic sniveling father. Lucius was nothing like his father, sadly.

He had about given up all hope of the family coming out of the abyss from which it had sunk into because of the idiocy of Dumbledore.

And then, as if a miracle had been given to him by the gods themselves, _he_ appeared. A brat he had dismissed as yet another pathetic pawn of the old goat bastard until rumors started to trickle his way from his allies.

Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, according to the pathetic sheep that made up the English enclaves, was turning out to be far more interesting than predicted.

On the surface, he was a loud braggart who loved the spotlight and was naturally good at magic. A misplaced Gryffindor who had somehow been sorted into Slytherin by mistake.

However that was only the show he put on for the masses and the old goat. The truth was far more interesting, from what he was hearing.

He had turned the useless daughter of the deranged twit who had licked the boots of the Dark Lord into his Steward, and for the first time since Charlus' death the house of Potter was flourishing. He was making shadow alliances and turning the muggleborns into something close to tolerable by giving them the lessons that had been cut from the curriculum. The latest crop of muggleborns were turning out to be somewhat respectable and were actually _polite_ , if somewhat tolerant of their ways rather than what was acceptable in the muggle world. The boy had seized control of Slytherin within a month of the sorting by making it perfectly clear he bowed to no one, least of all Dumbledore.

While he didn't actively use the familiar shadow plays that were the bread and butter of the upper echelons of their society, there was no doubting that the boy was still effective. He kept his word when given, he had charisma out the ass, and he knew _exactly_ how to play both sides of the spectrum. And his "views" on magic were more than acceptable, considering he was muggle-raised.

In short he was a far superior heir compared to the fool who was thrown into Azkaban because "everyone" knew he was guilty.

He gazed at the tapestry once more, before coming to a decision. He would have to meet the brat in person before he went through with the forms and oaths to make Harry Potter the new heir of the house of Black, rather than Sirius.

* * *

Camellia was beyond nervous. A summons had appeared at breakfast from the Head of the Black family, one that made it very clear they either came or they would be kicked out.

It had been bad enough when her grandfather had thrown her out after the healers claimed that because of the incompetence of the guards her mother had spent nearly the entirety of her pregnancy in Azkaban and as a side effect most of her magic had been more or less drained by the wards. She had been declared a squib at the tender age of six, and cast out almost immediately after without a second thought. Not even her aunts would help her.

If she was tossed out again, she didn't think she could take it... her heart would break.

She stood to the right of her cousin, who was hiding his own confusion and nervousness admirably. Her heart was pounding out of fear, but as long as Harry was with her she could stand almost anything.

"Enter!" barked the voice, and she nearly bolted like a frightened rabbit.

Instead she entered the lair of the beast and hoped they weren't about to get cast out of the family because Harry was an idiot like usual.


	11. Chapter 11

**Dun Dun Dun! The big reveal about Viper's Black heritage...and yes, I am aware of the age discrepancy but do you really think that would stop Viper from going to Hogwarts with her favorite cousin?**

* * *

Skull didn't really _know_ much about Arcturus Black, outside of the fact that he had died of dragonpox and Sirius had been made head shortly before his escape.

So coming face to face with the older wizard who was looking at him as one would a piece of well cooked food he was debating on eating, was a bit irritating.

He wasn't scared out of his wits like Viper was, and that made all the difference. He stared the man down without hesitation, the weight of his own experience keeping him from backing down in the least. A semi-feral smirk was firmly on his face, as if to say "Bring on your worst."

After several minutes of this stare down, the old man smirked as well.

"At least you have some spine in you, unlike your pathetic father."

"I bow to no one, least of all some pathetic wizard who thinks he's superior simply because of a magic stick. I might not be able to kill you outright, but I'll be damned if I don't at least make one major effort to take you with me to hell," Skull shot back without any hesitation whatsoever.

Arcturus laughed outright, and something in the sound calmed Viper down about the meeting.

"Well said! Well said indeed," he said with genuine approval and mirth. "That's the sort of spine our family needs in our heir."

"I thought Sirius was the heir?"

"After Azkaban, it would be up to debate whether he'd be even capable of holding the family together as well as dealing with the wolves that have been at the door since that fool took control."

"Fuck Dumbledore and fuck Voldemort," said Skull.

"There's also the small issue of him being adopted formally by the Potters when he was sixteen. There's far too likely a chance that he would be passed over by our family magicks. You however... the Black blood runs stronger in you than it ever had any of Walburga's brats. Regulus was a disappointment... Blacks bow to no one."

"I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Regulus Black," said Skull. "When he found out how far Voldemort went in his quest for immortality he realized his error and paid with his life to strike a blow against him. The fool went and made Horcruxes."

Arcturus stared him down.

"And what do you know of Horcruxes?"

"I know they're a bitch and a half to destroy, especially if you want to keep whatever it's attached to intact. I know that they require the death of an innocent, and that doing so fractures your soul and makes your magic unstable to the point that only fools would even try it. And that even being _near_ one of the damn things has detrimental effects on your mind and your emotions," said Skull without hesitation. "Kreacher knows the full story, and he knows where the foul thing is."

Arcturus was not pleased. Not only did Kreacher confirm the story and the truth behind Regulus' death, but he also confirmed several rumors he had heard about Walburga's lapse in sanity of late.

Looking at the brat who had been able to stare _him_ down without a single hint of a flinch, his decision was made clear.

But first he had to clarify something about the girl behind his new heir.

"You girl. You're Bellatrix's daughter Camellia aren't you?"

Skull blinked, before he looked at the terrified Viper.

"Yes sir," she said, proud that her voice didn't shake.

"Wait... you're Bellatrix's _daughter_?" he said incredulous.

"My mother was pregnant when they threw her in Azkaban. The guards didn't care about that fact, thinking she'd have a miscarriage before I came to term, only to find out too late that she had managed to keep me from dying when they came to her cell and found her cradling a squalling newborn baby. Cygnus took me to the healers when I didn't display enough magic for his liking before I was even five and cast me out almost immediately when they claimed I would be little more than a squib because of the guard's incompetence when I was six," she said in disgust.

She couldn't meet his eyes, fully expecting disgust or rejection from the one person who had accepted her without any hesitation.

"You've got to be _kidding_ me! You look nothing like that hag!" said Skull incredulous.

He had never made the connection Viper was Bellatrix Lestrange's daughter, because he honestly didn't see it.

Viper looked like she was just shy of crying. Then Skull remembered how he had introduced himself in Slytherin, before face-palming.

"Oh dear Loki... and I stupidly made that comparison about being related to that bitch in front of you to make a point of how vicious I was prepared to be if people pissed me off," he said in embarrassment.

"Actually I was shocked you were so ready to openly admit you were even related to her in front of so many people," she replied. It took her a few seconds to realize he was hugging her.

"It doesn't matter to me if you're related to that complete bitch. You're still my sister regardless of what people say about you," said Skull firmly.

"You'd claim a squib as family?" asked Arcturus.

"Just because her magic is weak doesn't make her any less a Black. Besides, I'm pretty sure her magic converted into soul fire as a survival mechanism because of those damn wards. It would actually explain a lot."

"Soul fire is extremely rare and is almost never found in the enclaves."

"Only because the Cosa Nostra and the Triads snatch them up the second they go active, and the Italian Ministry doesn't want the mafia trying to get their hooks into the enclaves there," said Skull. A smirk crossed his face, as a ball of fire made of violet with pure orange streaks appeared in his hands, his eyes glowing a bright amethyst as opposed to the emerald they normally were. "If you know the trick to it, it's fairly easy. The issue is that most of the idiots in the magical enclaves can't muster up the necessary resolve to bring it out."

Taking the hint, Viper quickly conjured up her own soul fire, or "Dying Will Flames". The indigo colored flame in her hand danced merrily. Without even thinking twice she changed the scenery around them into a beautiful field of flowers, then the very depths of Hades' realm complete with Cerberus. And she wasn't even winded.

Arcturus was looking at her hard now, as if searching for something.

"I'll only ask you once, girl. Who does your loyalty lie?"

"Harry," she replied with absolutely no hesitation and pure conviction in her voice. "Grandfather and the others failed to see my worth, but he took one look at me and didn't hesitate to call me family the first time we met on the streets. He gave me a chance to prove myself a proper member of the House of Black, and he made sure that no one questioned my loyalty to him by making me his right hand."

Arcturus smirked...it wasn't a nice one and would have meant some very bad things for those on the wrong end of it.

"Good answer. I'll acknowledge you as a true Black so long as you can pass six of your O.W.L.'s with nothing short of Outstanding and prove yourself worthy of the name," he said.

"Yes sir," said Viper, hiding her relief.

"And what exactly are your plans for the summer?"

"We're going to be traveling with Newt Scamander during the summer apprenticeships he offers to those who can pay him and carry a wand. That way the old bastard won't be able to track my movements or what I do so easily with his spies. He still hasn't figured out what I did to that horse faced bitch or her fat husband," said Skull.

"Oh?"

"The old fool placed me with my magic-hating aunt and her intolerant husband. They hated magic and anything to do with it, and the old bastard basically dumped me on their doorstep in the beginning of November without even _asking_ them if they would be willing to raise me," said Skull with the flat tone of someone who had long since come to terms with the knowledge he would never be accepted by them. "So when I finally had enough, I made sure to arrange things in a way that I would be paid for ending their pathetic lives."

"You do realize that by killing your aunt you could be branded kinslayer by the old magicks," he commented.

"That would imply that they acknowledged we were kin in the first place. They never accepted me as a part of their family and only kept me there because they were being paid to do so out of my own vaults and because Dumbledore threatened my so called 'aunt' into it. Their treatment alone would have voided any claim they had on me as blood, and I only killed the adults. I spared their son and even made sure he'd at least have a chance to grow up a decent person, as opposed to the waste of space he would have become. Even if he will have no memory of his parents or who he was before."

"And how did you kill them?"

"Flour," shrugged Skull.

"Flour?" he repeated incredulous.

"Ordinary flour you could get at any store for a few pounds. Perfectly innocuous and pretty hard to trace back to the culprit since it was already in the kitchen... but when used _correctly_..." said Skull. "They choked to death on it and there was no chance that it would point the finger at me when all was said and done."

"I suppose we'll have to see what magic says about the matter."

If the heir ring accepted him despite openly admitting to killing his muggle aunt, then clearly it deemed him in the right.

* * *

Skull walked out of Gringotts with the Black Heir ring around his neck... wearing it properly was too big a clue that he was in contact with Arcturus and might tip off Dumbledore that his control over him was nonexistent. Just having skin contact was enough for the magic inside the ring to work.

Camellia was having her own break down. She had gone in with the to claim her mother's vaults, since being arrested meant that Bellatrix had forfeited her right to them.

Only for Skull to suggest that the goblins do an audit of the Lestrange vaults, starting with Bellatrix.

They hadn't even been there an hour (while waiting for the magic to determine whether or not Skull was worth of the title of Black Heir) when one of the goblins came in rather irate with the news of a Horcrux inside Bellatrix's vault.

Arcturus was _not_ pleased, and promptly filed to have Bellatrix cast out of the family properly. Everything in the vault would be turned over to Camellia once the goblins had gone over the contents with a fine toothed comb in case of more unpleasant surprises...minus the fines for having such a foul thing in _their_ control.

Regulus had died with his honor intact trying to rid the world of the foul magic. Bellatrix had allowed it to be placed in her vaults with pride.

Best of all Skull had found something in his mother's vaults that would allow Arcturus all the excuse he would need to get Sirius a trial...and with the knowledge of where to find Pettigrew before Sirius' innocence became widely known, the old dog would have his name cleared properly. Her diary was enough to spark in inquiry as to whether Sirius was in fact the traitor.

He wouldn't be allowed custody, but he would be free and allowed to have visitation rights once he had gone through some much needed therapy.

And Arcturus could play it off as wanting to make the best use of the limited time he knew he had left before he died to insure that his now _former_ heir was given a fair trial.

He was much happier with Harry as the heir. Sure, he lacked the background and knowledge of how the "polite" society worked, but he had the skill and subtly to get things done properly and an actual spine to back it up. He would admit the "brash Slytherin" ploy was absolutely brilliant in that it played off the sheep's expectations of him while covering his true actions.

No one would see his knife in their back until it was far too late.

"You do realize we'll have to put off the summer apprenticeship with Scamander this year, right?" commented Viper.

"He sent a letter earlier apologizing about that, actually. Apparently his permits and license came under review, so he won't be able to take us on until next year at the earliest. Which basically reeks of a ploy by the old goat to keep me in the UK, but it won't work a second time," said Skull shrugging.

Considering who it was, the reviews were more of a formality for Scamander. After all, he _was_ the leading expert and first recognized Mythozoologist.

Skull suddenly smirked.

"Besides, who said we had to put off our little study of magical creatures and free potion ingredients because of a rather weak power play by the old goat?"

Viper suddenly narrowed her eyes at him.

"What are you up to?"

"Want to spend a summer traveling with a pair of Lovegoods?"

"Oh gods... you are insane," she said in exasperation.

"Don't worry... I've packed plenty of migraine medication!" said Skull cheerfully. "That and I stocked up on some proper booze with the help of the old man."

Arcturus had grumbled about 'disrespectful brats' when Skull first called him that, but had put up with it in between trying to drink the idiot under the table to show him some respect.

Instead Skull had happily abused his poor liver and outlasted the older wizard while steadily wiping out his better liquor stash.

He then proceeded to help himself to a few of the better bottles and couldn't wait to hear the old man bitch about his heir taking some of his better stash and not properly appreciating it.

Poking at the older generation was _fun_ when they underestimated you.

"Why do I put up with you," sighed Viper in mock exasperation. But the genuine smile on her face belayed her real feelings.

"Because you love me and adore your favorite brother," said Skull grinning while walking backwards. His situational awareness allowed him to avoid the people around him with ease.

Viper felt the sensation she had come to realize might possibly be "harmony" in her chest hearing that word. Harry hadn't rejected her for even an instant upon learning who her mother was or why she had been thrown out by her grandfather. He had openly admitted that he didn't see her parents in her, just his "sister".

Though from what she had come to learn, he wasn't comparing her to her mother, but to a shadow of someone else. Someone he knew she could become once she reached her full potential, and he was eagerly awaiting the day that person came back with a much lighter heart.

And she was very determined to live up to this shadow of her future self. To prove he was right to believe in her.


	12. Chapter 12

"What happened to you?" asked Blaise when it came time for them to get their supplies.

"Lovegoods," said Camellia. "Lovegoods with an idiot who actually _understands_ what they're saying and is capable of keeping up with them without the use of recreational potions, plants or alcohol and was able to get into a debate over details that make no sense at all."

"...Please for the love of Maeve don't tell me..."

"That idiot dragged me on a summer-long trip with the father and daughter who run the Quibbler and was practically adopted by them by the end of it," whined Camellia with a pained sound in her voice. "All because Scamander suddenly got called in for a review of his license and permits and thus couldn't take us on for a few months."

"Wow, that play is so obvious only an idiot would miss it."

"Oh it gets worse for you," said Camellia darkly. "While we were in China he took the test to determine whether he could get a license allowing him to have to carry around the portable magical creature sanctuary and trade in certain ingredients and he _passed_ it. With full marks."

Blaise turned to her wide eyed in absolute horror.

"Oh gods, don't tell me..."

"He's now legally allowed to carry around dragons and other dangerous creatures so long as they stay within the confines of his case. He's also made it clear he intends to take care of the dog that Hagrid had confined last year, since the Ministry can and will throw a fit once they learn it's so close to the school."

It was illegal to _own_ dragons and other class five creatures. However thanks to a legal loophole created (once again, due to Scamander's actions when he was younger and a family who wanted to keep him out of Azkaban for it) it was _not_ illegal to carry a dragon around in a portable magic sanctuary so long as it stayed _in_ there and you could prove you were capable of handling the hazards of dragon breeding.

However due to his age, Harry couldn't actually have any dragons in his case... yet. If he happened to _find_ one and rescue it, he could keep it as long as he was able to relocate the beast to a proper sanctuary...at least until he had passed the proper secondary exams to be considered "competent" around dragons in particular.

Blaise made a distinctly pained noise in his throat. That fool was going to be the death of him.

"Our life, why?" he whined.

"Look at the bright side."

"There's a bright side?"

"Your mother's here to watch a complete idiot sign over control of his vaults because Harry is sneaky enough to get his signature on a magically binding contract without him even realizing what he's signing in the first place?" said Camellia with a dark grin.

Blaise perked up at that.

"Mother, did you bring the camera like I told you?" asked Blaise with a dark expression on his face.

* * *

 _In Flourish and Blott's..._

Skull wanted to gag. Lockhart was just as bad a second time around, but this time he was armed with something to make sucking up to the jackass entirely worth it.

If for no other reason than they'd have immense enjoyment in driving him completely insane before blowing his little scam out of the water.

It would give Viper plenty of chances to practice her illusions on a live target she wasn't required to keep sane.

Skull laid on the charm thick (but not too thick to make it obvious) before holding out the 'scrap' piece of parchment that had a bunch of what appeared to be doodles and had just enough room for a decent signature.

Lockhart signed away his fortunes with a greedy flourish, unaware that his own stupidity had just doomed him.

Swiping the diary away from Ginny's cauldron was just bonus, since Lucius didn't see Skull's hand move. It was just another to add to the already growing pile of Horcruxes to be destroyed later by the goblins, who apparently had their own method of dealing with the things without ruining the items they were attached to.

They were very displeased when they found out Voldemort had turned Hufflepuff's Cup and Slytherin's Locket into the foul things. The diary was worthless enough that they could destroy it outright.

As Skull handed it over, he couldn't help but muse out loud "You know does Riddle even _have_ a claim on the name 'Heir of Slytherin' when he used his own uncle as a patsy for murdering his muggle father and his family?"

The goblin froze, before giving Skull an odd look.

"That's...actually a good question," admitted Griphook. "One that deserves a proper answer."

Blaise looked at Skull and swore, loudly.

"What are you up to this time?" demanded Blaise.

Skull's honest confusion said volumes of the fact he had no idea what Blaise meant. It was just a passing thought that he put voice to in front of the goblins, not one he had ever bothered to ask considering he honestly didn't care.

Voldemort was just a nuisance he had to deal with along with Dumbledore, not someone he cared to learn more about. He honestly did not see the point of why Dumbledore spent so much time making him learn about the bastard's past unless it was to make him try and empathize with the asshole who needed to die.

Blaise's annoyance with him became even more pronounced when the next morning Skull was called in by the goblins about his accounts. Naturally Viper went with him.

Only to return four hours later with an exasperated/disbelieving Viper and a very startled Skull with yet _another_ ring around his neck next to the Black heir ring.

"What. Did. You. Do."

"It wasn't my fault this time!" protested Skull.

"It technically wasn't. He had absolutely no idea what commenting about Riddle's crime in front of the goblins would set off," said Viper with glee.

"Do I want to know?" asked Blaise.

"Long story short, Riddle forfeited the right to be called 'Heir of Slytherin' when he used Morfin as a patsy for his own crime of murdering his muggle father and the man's family, on top of the whole soul fragment issue. Especially when the fragment this idiot handed over to be destroyed _confirmed_ he committed the murder _before_ he claimed the title 'Heir of Slytherin' and set the monster loose fifty years ago. However due to the fact that Harry somehow managed to absorb part of Riddle's soul fragment that had gotten lodged in his head when he attempted to murder him that night, the old magicks have apparently decided that _he_ is now the true Heir of Slytherin _despite_ the fact that he has no blood relation to the man whatsoever."

Blaise stared at Harry who looked completely confused and more than a little shocked about this turn of events.

"You had a soul fragment in your head and no one caught it?"

"I was dumped immediately on Petunia when Hagrid took me from the cottage and never seen by a proper healer or mediwizard. The shade got kicked out when I went Active at age seven anyway, so the point is pretty moot," said Skull, his voice almost flat from the shock of what was going on. "And while she was blood related to me, the old magicks have determined that it was acceptable since my _actual_ target at the time was a man I had no blood relation with and she was merely convenient collateral. Likely because I spared their son."

Skull hadn't actually gone after his blood aunt _deliberately_ when he used the flour. If she had lived he would have allowed the fact that he had killed Vernon without hesitation go as a warning to what he would do if she pissed him off. His actual target that night was his 'uncle' who had rejected him as kin from the very start, so the old magicks determined that his actions were 'acceptable' and let him off with a slap on the wrist as a warning. If he had killed Dudley, that would have been a different story, but Skull never went after kids.

It was all very technical, but the fact remained that the ring and family magicks had accepted him as the new Heir of the family and that was all anyone cared about.

"So just to be clear, because of a twisted piece of luck you had a soul fragment in your body and your magic managed to absorb part of it. Am I going to regret asking what exactly it absorbed that you ended up Heir of Slytherin? It would take something that can only be inherited if the goblins confirmed it so fast."

Like the Black family's metamorph ability.

Skull looked at his best friend sheepishly, before stroking something along his neck.

"...What is that?" asked Blaise suspiciously.

'That', as it turned out, was an Egyptian spitting cobra. Blaise made a choked, pained noise in his throat again. And then looked at the wall longingly as if he wanted to introduce his head to it repeatedly when Skull actually _hissed_ and the snake proceeded to slither down his neck to the end of his right arm and sat calmly next to his hand.

"You're a _parselmouth_?!"

"That was my reaction," deadpanned Viper. "And the idiot didn't think it was important."

Blaise looked at Skull, before walking towards the couch, grabbing a pillow and letting out a frustrated scream. Then he came back in and glared at him.

"Right. Any _other_ surprises you'd like to drop on me before I start hexing?"

"I know the names of all the future Arcobaleno?" he offered.

"You are going to be the _death_ of me."

"Nah, I'd just bring your shade back so you can yell at me more. I mean..." said Skull hurriedly, when he realized his mistake.

"...For the love of magic don't tell me you have the Resurrection stone of all things!" hissed Blaise.

Skull wilted under his irate gaze.

"Not just the stone. The Potter family cloak is one too."

"...And the Elder wand?" glared Blaise.

"Currently locked up with the stone in a desk. I can't remember which one, but the old goat has no idea where it went because he was looking increasingly flustered when he finally returned my family's cloak last Christmas and it went missing. It's not like I _need_ the stupid things."

Blaise reached out with his arms and made several motions with his hands as if to strangle Skull out of sheer annoyance and frustration. Viper could relate.

Then a slightly suspicious expression came onto his face as he looked at Skull hard.

"You said you knew the names of the future I Presceti Sette. You are strangely close to that odd Lightning Verde. You treat Fon with nothing but respect and as if he were your equal without thinking. And you are always acting as though it's only natural Camellia is so strong with her Mist."

Blaise was positively growling at Skull now.

"Which one were you?"

Skull wilted.

"Cloud. After what happened my Sky was so badly damaged that there was only Cloud flames left. I honestly had no idea I even _had_ a Sky attribute until that test."

Blaise looked at him serious.

"I take it Camellia, Fon and Verde are among that number?"

"Maybe?" squeaked Skull.

"And that contact of yours, Renato. He's one of them as well."

It was all adding up. Harry was the future Cloud Arcobaleno and he knew _it_. Knew that he would end up cursed as a toddler for the rest of his life and was doing nothing to prevent it.

"What am I missing here?" asked Camellia suspiciously.

"This idiot knows the names of those who will end up cursed to become toddlers once the current Arcobaleno are due to be replaced," said Blaise flatly. It was about time this idiot got a dose of his own medicine.

"Toddlers?" she repeated dangerously.

Skull winced.

"May I ask why you never said anything before now?" she demanded.

"Because there is very little he could do to prevent it. I have a solid lead on a way to at least remove the curse after the fact, but there was no way to escape it without that man simply cursing us anyway," said Verde. He pushed up his glasses. "At least Skull is trying to get us to work as a proper _team_ as opposed to the half-assed manner we had to deal with the first time."

Blaise and Viper glared at him.

"You should actually be flattered, Viper. Out of all of us you were always the closest to that idiot, even if you didn't do anything to prevent Reborn and Colonello from picking on him. Skull went out of his way to correct the wrongs committed against you as a child the second he found out what happened. You were in a great deal of shock when you found out he brought you back into the family after the fact and never asked for anything in return."

Viper's eyes softened.

"Why do you call me Viper?"

"Because that was the name you used when we first met. We all had a past and none of us cared enough to dig any deeper unless we had to. Last time you were left to flounder around the underworld until you reinvented yourself as the world's best information broker and the strongest Mist," said Skull. "Then you found out by accident I was the head of the family who kicked you out when I asked if you could help me deal with some idiots trying to shove a marriage law through the works and you only started to loosen up about the whole payment thing when I brought you back into the Black family without you even asking for it. I honestly had no idea your mother was Bellatrix until the old man said something about it because I honestly don't see it."

If he looked hard he could see the same viciousness and cruel imagination when it came to people who really pissed her off, but that was about all he could see of her mother. When he looked at Camellia, he saw _Viper_ , not the woman who birthed her.

Viper seemed to calm down hearing that.

"How do you even know about this anyway?" Blaise asked Verde.

"Experiment with time turners and a device made by the Bovino famiglia. There was a one in a thousand resonance and I woke up in my much younger body with the wrong date... took me a week before I realized I wasn't imagining things and realized what happened. Then a Lovegood showed up and basically told me that Skull was aware as well and we got back into contact with each other."

"Device?" repeated Blaise.

"The Bovino made something called the 'Ten Year Bazooka'. The ammo basically takes you to the closest timeline ten years from where you are now for five minutes while your 'future' self takes your place," replied Verde. "Took me forever to get my hands on the ammo at all."

"Why aren't you angry about the fact you're going to be cursed?" asked Viper honestly. Finding out her _brother_ had been comparing her this whole time with the woman she would become and honestly hadn't known she was Bellatrix's daughter was rather flattering. And that word still sent a thrill down her spine, because it was nice having a sibling who honestly cared about you and your happiness.

"Because this time I know what to expect, and Skull has already agreed to help me in any way to find a method of undoing the curse after the fact without killing us. From what my research indicated, the Arcobaleno don't live past the curse being passed on," said Verde flatly. Then he looked somewhat irritated. "That and the idiot grows on you."

"You do care! In between all those silly experiments and poking me with those stupid needles," said Skull, brightening up.

"When you say grows on you..." said Blaise smirking.

"I meant like a fungus," said Verde without any remorse to the expression on Skull's face.

Worth it.


	13. Chapter 13

"You are an evil, vindictive little bastard," said Blaise in appreciation.

"Thank you!" said Skull cheerfully.

"That wasn't a compliment, you idiot. And why in the name of magic did you send Verde to Granger?"

"She needs someone who can keep up with her and he could use an assistant that actually understands him. She just needs to loosen up a bit and she'd be perfect for him."

"You're trying to set _him_ up with a girlfriend," deadpanned Blaise.

"Considering last time she married the younger Weasley brother and was absolutely miserable..." said Skull.

"And why on earth does he keep calling you 'Skull'?"

Skull winced.

"Because that was how I introduced myself?" he said sheepishly. At Blaise's look, he explained. "I called myself the Immortal Skull-sama and it kinda stuck."

"Why do I even ask," said Blaise in exasperation. "So do you prefer Skull or Harry?"

"Skull. Harry allowed himself to be lead around by the nose by the people around him, while Skull actually lived by his own rules and didn't take shit from anyone except those he trusted to have his back," he said without hesitation.

The _only_ reason he had allowed Reborn and Colonello to kick him around and call him "Lackey" was because he trusted them to have his back when he needed it. Because in their own twisted way they had actually given a damn about him, even if they were crap at showing it.

"But still, issuing a challenge that comes with a monetary reward to whoever can drive Lockhart around the bend or at least out of the castle was cruel and unusual."

"The fangirls sure seemed pissed when they heard it," grinned Skull.

"Oh I'm not saying I don't approve... I'm just saying I plan to enjoy the show," grinned Blaise viciously. The man was a media-whore and had sent the limited intelligence of the girls in the school plummeting to ridiculous levels.

"Just wait. If he really annoys me then I'm going to set Skeeter on his ass about his so-called accomplishments," cackled Skull. "One word about the truth and he'll never sell another book again."

"Evil. I like it," said Blaise grinning.

* * *

 _In the Slytherin common room..._

"Is it true?" demanded Draco the _second_ they were in the Slytherin tower.

"What?" asked Skull baffled.

"You're the new heir of the Black family."

Suddenly everyone was looking at him intently.

"Where on earth did you hear that?" asked Skull. They had kept that information quiet, at least until Arcturus died. It was the easiest way to keep Dumbledore from trying to poke his nose where it didn't belong.

"In case you've forgotten, my mother is a Black. Besides, she heard a rumor that Arcturus is planning to let Bellatrix's daughter back in the family despite grandfather throwing her out when she was a child," said Draco, eyeing Camellia pointedly.

"Keep making insinuations like that, _cousin_ , and I'll show you how much I've improved since last year," snapped Camellia. Her magical aura was practically pressing down on the entire room, and it had shot up significantly since last year.

Draco wasn't the only one staring at her. It was well known Camellia was barely considered a witch last year, and now her core felt strong enough that she would never again suffer the 'humiliation' of being considered a squib.

"How?" he demanded.

"As it turns out, Harry has some contacts in China who found a way to heal the cracks in my core and allow the pathways to be used _properly_ without side effects. However we've been sworn to secrecy considering how dangerous the procedure was, and my ability towards wand magic will always be lacking. I've become a natural at wandless purely out of necessity."

Which wasn't actually true. There had been a minor accident while they were traveling with Luna and her father when Skull jumped in the way of a pissed off magical beast and had gotten badly hurt enough that he needed a blood transfusion, since the magic in the wound itself would have rendered most healing potions useless. His Cloud flames had worked overtime to replenish his blood supply, but it could only do so much.

Fortunately Verde had their blood tested before going with them, and Camellia's blood type was a match for Skull's. He had a pretty unpleasant scar that would fade eventually, but there were a few side effects since blood magic ran pretty strongly in the Black family.

Skull had made it clear to multiple parties that he considered her his "sister", not cousin. Magic apparently agreed with him, because after the transfusion some of her features had started to slowly shift into something much closer to his own. More to the point, her Flames had accepted Skull as her Sky, thus allowing some energy to be shared between them.

Energy her body had begun to siphon off to fix the damage to her magical core, using Skull's own as a baseline. She now had a limited ability to shift her features and her magic was now strong enough that she would never again be called a "Squib". However it was a once in a lifetime occurrence, and was only possible because they were blood related, they were both Flame active, and more importantly because Skull had Sky Flames.

It was well known that Sky Flames acted as a sort of spiritual glue for Flame users.

At least she would be able to pass her exams without any problems. The news she would be able to cast magic like any other witch had made the knowledge she was going to end up cursed as a toddler somewhere down the line far more bearable.

She could forgive _Skull_ for not saying anything. He was her brother after all.

"So is it true that you're now the Black heir?" demanded Draco.

Skull sighed in exasperation.

"You are an idiot. Did you not once think that maybe there's a _reason_ it was kept in the family and not announced to everyone until after Arcturus died?" said Skull glaring.

Draco realized his mistake, but it was too late now.

"Why did he skip over Sirius?"

"Because even though there is a high chance Sirius _might_ actually be innocent of the crime of betraying his best friends, there is also a chance that he might not be able to handle the family magicks due to the damage done to him by Azkaban and the dementors. There's also the fact he was pretty much adopted by the Potters before his magical majority when he ran away from his mother, so they might not accept him in the first place," said Skull flatly.

"Sirius Black might be innocent?" repeated Flint.

"My mother indicated that they switched the secret keepers at the last minute in her diaries. Sirius was supposed to act as a decoy while this other wizard kept their location quiet... it was his idea since it was too well known that he was close to the Potters. The charm they used would have kept them a bit safer had they not picked the wrong person."

"Which charm did they use?" asked MacNair.

"The Fidelius charm," replied Skull. "They relied too much on the secrecy provided by that one charm, and it cost them their lives. From what I was told my father was caught completely off guard and was nowhere near his wand when they were attacked."

"So even if Sirius was innocent, there's a chance he wouldn't be able to take the mantle as Head of the Black family because of the damage long term dementor exposure causes on top of the wards designed to prevent people from using magic to escape," said Flint.

"That and the fact Sirius was a bit too quick to follow Dumbledore's lead really didn't help. Blacks bow to no one, least of all addle-brained twits like the old goat bastard or that fake 'lord'," said Skull flatly. He already had another article by the Midnight Marauder which would go public the second someone figured out the Chamber was open again.

"So...you're officially a Black now?" asked Daphne Greengrass.

Skull sighed.

"Yes, I'm officially the Black heir until I pass at least three O.W.L.'s with high marks if Arcturus dies, or I reach my magical majority if he's still around. _Technically_ I'm already head of the Potter family, but since it's been down to one since my parents died it hasn't made much difference."

The news Harry was now _officially_ a Black made the rest of Slytherin turn to each other with whispers. What had started as a slight joke about how he behaved more like a Black than a Potter had just become serious.

"The old goat bastard does not learn of my new status until it's made _official_. He's annoying enough as it is with how much he watches me," said Skull with a slightly mocking shudder.

"So you did notice," said Tracy.

"Kinda hard to _miss_ with the way he keeps trying to use his casual legilmency skill on me," snapped Skull.

Dead silence.

"What."

"Dumbledore is a master at Legilmency. Snape tends to mind his own business and only uses it to determine if someone's lying to him, but the old bastard has a bad habit of reading people every time he's within eyesight of them. It doesn't work in large crowds, but if you're alone with him he'll try to brush up against your mind. I'm not sure why he even got in the habit of doing that, but it's seriously annoying," said Skull bluntly. It's one of the main reasons he avoided being alone with the senile wizard.

"...And people made him the Headmaster of a school full of impressionable children. What the hell is wrong with the adults around us?" said Blaise in disgust.

"They were all raised on stories of Dumbledore's greatness," said Skull sarcastically. "The only ones who know what he's really like are those old enough to be our grandparents and great grandparents, and most of them hate him because he swooped in to defeat Grindlewald at the last minute rather than stick out his own damn neck to actually _do_ something against his former lover. Because if you look between the lines it's pretty easy to tell that Grindlewald and Dumbledore were more than best friends... especially since the senile bastard is _still_ going on about the same greater good crap that Grindlewald did during the war."

Dead silence.

"That...explains too much," said Daphne.

"And those that _do_ see through his bullshit were almost always branded dark even if they _didn't_ agree with Riddle, since no one else was remotely strong enough to call him on his bullshit and not get mobbed by the old goat's support base. They think he's the epitome of 'good' magic and that he can do no wrong," said Skull in open disgust. "It really didn't help that Riddle wiped out any family that didn't agree with him or want anything to do with him, even if they refused to side with Dumbledore."

"You do realize that you're creating your own 'side' if things escalate again, right?" commented Blaise.

"And?" said Skull, raising an eyebrow. "At least I don't make promises I can't keep, I actually _care_ about the people who work with me and if someone intends to come at me with lethal force I have absolutely zero problem with replying in kind. And unlike those fools I don't target kids or innocents."

"There's also the fact you genuinely don't give a damn about politics. At this rate you might end up with a harem," said Blaise, trying to lighten the mood.

"Do _not_ joke about that! What _sane_ man would even WANT a harem?!"

Every male stared at him in disbelief at that comment.

"You're kidding, right?" said Flint.

"Who wouldn't want a harem?" said another in confusion.

"Do _any_ of you have any idea what a logistics NIGHTMARE having and maintaining a harem would be?" said Skull, shuddering.

"Okay, this I have to hear if only to mock you about it later," said Viper. "You don't think girls are gross or anything do you?"

Skull made a face.

"Please, I grew out of that 'girls have cooties' stage _years_ ago. But seriously, why in Loki's name would anyone want to have a harem when it's a complete nightmare to deal with?" he replied.

"For the sake of argument, why do you think a harem is a nightmare to deal with?" asked Blaise, enjoying this far too much.

Skull made a look of mock thoughtfulness.

"Let's deal with the first issue. They're expensive to maintain. Then there's a time-management issue, which only gets worse the more girls...or guys... you add to the group. And let's not forget the group dynamic, which can change very quickly out of jealously if you pay too much attention to one person and not enough to anyone else, or if you add the wrong person. Of course there's also the issue of trying to keep up with that many people in the bedroom without dying from it."

Everyone was staring at him.

"Explain your reasoning," said Viper.

"You have to deal with food costs, clothing, and other expenses that come with having more than two or three people in a relationship. And that only goes up when you consider pregnancies and how much maintaining children are going to cost you long term until they're old enough to support themselves. And then there's time management, where you have to determine exactly how much time to spend with the other people in the harem without spending too much and making the others feel neglected in the process. And that directly affects the group dynamic, which is necessary if you want to maintain a working relationship, because petty jealously can bring the entire thing into one big fight between everyone and lead to the entire thing collapsing," said Skull reasonably.

Viper stared at him.

"That...actually makes far too much sense. And is actually a good reason why harems are impractical and inefficient," she said in disbelief.

"There's also the small issue of trying to maintain the proper stamina level in order to keep your bed partners satisfied," said Skull, continuing without a second thought. "Girls are actually somewhat more durable when it comes to that sort of thing, but guys loose a lot of stamina every time they 'finish' and doing it too often will leave them severely dehydrated to the point they might actually die from not having enough fluids in them. And if you add in too many partners in too short a time period without sufficient chance to recover and rest..."

"You've put a lot of actual thought into this," said Viper impressed.

"It mostly started out as a joke between me and a friend when he asked what I would do with a harem, and then it kinda went downhill from there," admitted Skull.

Someone, he couldn't really remember _who_ (though it was likely Verde being snarky at the time), had made a comment about how often Reborn took home willing bed partners and how he was surprised the man didn't have a harem by now before the curse. Which was when Skull had made the mistake of saying he never wanted to have a harem because of the headache it would cause and he had surprised everyone by giving a well reasoned argument against the whole idea that even Reborn couldn't dispute.

Ironically it had made Lal Mirch, Viper, Fon, and Luce look at him favorably because he openly admitted to being a total romantic who only wanted one or two partners, rather than an entire harem of them and that he openly disliked the idea of having a bunch of women purely for the purpose of sleeping with several bed partners.

It was hard to even consider the idea of _having_ a harem when Skull knew damn well what a nightmare it would be trying to maintain it without the whole thing collapsing in on itself. He'd much rather have a 'family' than a 'harem'.

From the looks of the other boys, they had clearly never put _that_ much thought into the subject beyond fantasizing about having multiple bed partners at the same time.


	14. Chapter 14

**Yes, the Harem Rant came out of nowhere, but there was a reason for it. The only OFFICIAL pairing as of yet in this story is Fon/Viper (Camellia). Skull almost got trapped in a harem the last time, until he thought over the logistics of it and decided "HELL NO". I don't have a problem with harem fics, I just think they're too much trouble to write.**

 **Cannot believe how many chapters I already have of this story written up. Let's just say this story is going to be one of my longer ones. There's at _least_ thirty chapters written!**

* * *

Skull got up with the usual protest. He _hated_ mornings. Fortunately there was something on his table that made up for his least favorite part of the day.

A fresh, _proper_ cup of Italian coffee with just the right amount of sugar. Blaise had a similar cup with a bit of milk fresh from a farm on his table.

Blaise took one look at the coffee, then at a yawning Skull.

"Where did this come from?"

"My new house elf. Consider it an apology in advance for half the crap I'm likely to put you through for the next six years."

"Just to be clear, you're bribing me with coffee."

"Proper _Italian_ coffee straight from Italy."

"...How the hell did you get the elves here to deliver proper coffee? More importantly since when do they know how to make it?"

"They don't, and it's actually being made by the elves from your estate since they know how we prefer to drink it in the mornings. It's just being delivered by a third party who is allowed through a loophole in the school rules and tolerated by the other elves. It's not like anyone actually _knows_ the names of every elf in the castle after all."

"I'll bite. How did you get your personal elf past the wards?" asked Nott.

"Because his current assignment is to help maintain the creatures in my case, and thus is part of an ongoing research project for my future career as a professional Mythozoologist," said Skull without missing a beat. "Since I can't exactly carry the case with me to class, Snape gave me permission to hire an elf to help maintain the animals since their condition directly affects my grades. Officially he's not considered a 'personal elf'."

"And unofficially?" asked Nott smirking.

"I may or may not have a fan who's more than happy to do small things for me so long as I'm very discreet about it?" grinned Skull.

Nott cackled.

"You're a true Slytherin, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise Black."

Only a Slytherin would find a legal loophole that not even the old cat or the headmaster could revoke, since it was part of his education. It was a law so old that not even _Dumbledore_ could get around it, as quite a few of the pure bloods used to get the jobs they wanted... it wasn't like Pomphrey could devote much time to giving basic healer's training to _every_ student that wanted it.

 _Or in my case, to a student stuck in a bed because of an overprotective witch who saw far too much of me already..._ thought Skull.

When he had been a student last time, he had spent far too much time in the hospital wing. So much so that Pomphrey had literally assigned him a bed, complete with plaque.

In order to keep him from trying to get out of her tender mercies, she had given him several books on basic healing charms and quizzed him during the slow times. Then when he had polished off those (fourth year), she started putting him through the advanced lessons which included him practicing on an odd orb that registered if the charm was cast correctly. There were also a few lessons on the _proper_ way to mix potions without bad side effects and adjusting them for unforeseen problems.

Case in point, the amount of basilisk venom in his blood combined with undiluted phoenix tears. Certain potions would react badly to the venom or be rendered useless by it.

By the end of the war, Harry could be called a competent healer without the oaths. Poppy taught him as much as she could if only so he had a real chance of living to see his twenties.

Hermione and Ron were always baffled when it was Harry who stitched them up during the Horcrux hunt, but he never said where he learned it outside of reading some of the books in the hospital wing out of pure boredom.

Besides... Skull had nearly _died_ without his coffee in the mornings. Renato had spoiled him for the good stuff and now he could barely tolerate the already ground kind unless he was really desperate.

Hard to believe Renato was a nonmagical.

Blaise took a sip of his coffee...before a content smile came onto his face.

"I will not strangle you in your sleep for the rest of the year so long as you keep supplying this every morning."

Skull grinned and drank his own cup. Suddenly he didn't feel like a inferi anymore... it was a miracle that could only be produced by a cup of heavenly caffeine.

They weren't the only ones with a cup in their hands... Viper came down with a rather large mug of hot Chai tea in hers.

"Thank Loki for Dobby," she said contently.

"Thank Loki for loopholes," grinned Skull.

Dobby had tried to 'warn' Harry while in the Black mansion about the 'dark plot' in the works. Apparently the elf had known damn well what that diary was but not what it was called.

Thankfully Narcissa was more than happy to hand over the 'useless' elf to Harry as a thank you for curbing Draco's more obnoxious traits and making sure her son acted in a proper manner for a Black, not the arrogant and pompous manner of a Malfoy. She also privately confirmed that the accident during the summer had turned her niece into a proper witch, despite her original handicap.

Dobby was over the moon to be serving the "Great Harry Black", especially since Harry showed him such a great deal of trust by assigning him to his personal creature case.

Arcturus was already planning to completely ruin Barty Crouch Senior the second he started the process of freeing Sirius from Azkaban.

The old wizard believed that Skull had foreknowledge of potential future events when he proved Regulus had died with honor and the fact he had known about the cup in Bellatrix's vault.

So the chance to reclaim one of their family from the hands of the self-styled Dark Lord and his service was not something he was going to pass up on. Especially considering the boy had been more or less thrown into Azkaban without a true chance to prove he had been involved with the attack on the Longbottoms. Crouch had been so eager to keep his image clean that he tossed his son in there without a second thought.

* * *

Skull barely had time to read the paper when Blaise came up to him.

"What. Did. You. Do."

Skull blinked before he looked at the headline.

"Ah. I merely told the old man a certain piece of information about the man who was in charge of 'trying' everyone who was supposedly with the Dark Lord that would call his character into question."

 _ **Barty Crouch Sr. accused of using Imperius on his son! Barty Crouch Jr. to receive full trial under suspicion of misconduct from the prosecution!**_

"What the hell did you do this time?"

"The idiot in charge of trying all the Death Eaters after the war threw his own son in prison by lumping him with the Lestrange trio for attacking the Longbottoms without once asking if he had anything to do with the attack. Then he helped his wife take their son's place and kept his son under the Imperius all these years in order to save face. His wife was a Black, so Arcturus agreed to give Crouch Jr. a proper trial to see if he really was involved or if he had merely been at the house during the arrest at the worst possible time."

"And if he was?" asked MacNair.

"Then Arcturus agreed to give the kid an ultimatum if he's innocent in what happened to the Longbottoms. He has two choices, depending on where his loyalties are. If he's innocent and wants to make a clean break then he has to renounce the fake Dark Lord and anything to do with him and make an oath never to follow Dumbledore...odds are he'll be allowed to change his name to Black and end the Crouch line permanently. However if he's innocent of that crime but still believes in the bullshit Riddle spewed, then he will be given the option of having an honorable death by duel with one of the family, or a dishonorable one by allowing him to take his own life. If he's guilty though, then he'll be disowned and tossed right back into Azkaban without question."

"There's a way to remove the Dark Mark?" asked Flint intently.

"Arcturus has been paying several professional healers, curse breakers and charm masters into discovering the spells behind it. Once they figure out how to unravel it and those who have one make the appropriate oaths to never serve Riddle again, then they'll make an announcement in the paper or discreetly pass it along through the pure blood grapevines," said Skull. "However the oaths have to be taken voluntarily."

Flint nodded to himself, before quietly passing on the news to the other families affected by Riddle's lies.

The people willing to flock to Voldemort's banner was rapidly dwindling with every revelation by Harry Black. Only the 'true believers' and those who merely wanted in for an excuse to kill muggles would follow him at the rate he was going.

Especially since everything Black said about "Tom Marvolo Riddle", aka "Lord Voldemort" was confirmed by cold hard facts through trusted sources like the goblins. Like the true behind the man's actual parentage, or the fact he was a kinslayer.

There was some speculation by the older families as to whether the fact Harry defeated Riddle meant he was now the legitimate Heir of Slytherin, or if the titles were forever lost. None of them were willing to _ask_ if he had the title because there was a very high chance he wouldn't tell them anyway.

Unlike some of the boys, Harry didn't _brag_ about his bloodline or any title he didn't earn by choice. In fact he was rather disgusted with the whole "Boy-Who-Lived" image because in order to have earned that title he had lost both his parents. He found it strange that someone had allowed the image to be built up to the point there were several fantasy stories about his life before Hogwarts, when it was far more likely his mother had found something in the Potter library that hadn't been used in a very long time or had been forgotten about and that had been what saved him. Which meant they should have been celebrating her, not the child who was orphaned by a liar and a kinslayer.

If he was Heir of Slytherin, then odds were he would keep his mouth shut about it. He wasn't stupid enough to brag about something like that when he hadn't even passed his O.W.L.'s yet and was thus vulnerable to Dumbledore's attempts to mold him into his own personal pawn.

Something any pure blood child in the school could completely understand, because the headmaster did have an unhealthy interest in him already.

After the disaster that was Lockhart's first class... in which Skull put his new skills as a level one Mythozoologist to good use and more or less tricked the pixies into his case to be relocated somewhere more appropriate... Skull had been very bored. And when combined with his habits of doing _interesting_ things... well it was a dangerous combination for Blaise's poor sanity.

Not that he regretted befriending the crazy Cloud. Skull was hard to hate, because once you had his loyalty he would not stray. He would move heaven and earth if asked and it didn't go against his own principles.

Even if Blaise would very much like to strangle whoever had conditioned the other boy into believing it was normal for his Elements to shove him into a gilded cage where his own opinions and thoughts didn't matter, all because it was "for his own good" without even asking him.

Sensing the mood of the normally cheerful Cloud, Blaise sighed.

" _It's out of your hands, idiota. You've dealt the cards and given them to someone who's more capable than you in determining when to play them. Focus on tormenting that fool for now,"_ said Blaise in Italian. _"Or if you're really bored you could introduce one of your 'pets' to the DADA class like that blasted snake of yours."_

Skull had kept the snake the goblins tested him with, since the thing was 'very bored' and the idiot who milked him for his venom had freezing cold hands. The goblins didn't care since the snake was one of the more difficult ones and if Skull got bit then it wasn't their problem.

Skull brightened up as an evil idea occurred to him.

" _Or I could give the twins the perfect motivation to cause mischief along with some Anti-Howler wards for the entire student body so their mother can't berate them."_

Blaise looked at him with suspicion.

" _What are you going to do?"_

" _Does anyone actually_ know _what the House Cup looks like?"_ asked Skull cheekily.

Blaise thought that over before he paled.

" _Maybe next year,"_ he said quickly.

Because of his exposure to Skull and his antics, Blaise had a damn good idea where his thought process lead. Which meant he also knew _exactly_ what sort of "inspiration" the idiot would give the Weasley Twins with a few well placed words.

Skull would point out no one actually KNEW what the House Cup looked like since the only thing the students got at the end of the year for being "good" was to see their house colors up in the great hall and a cup that was awarded to their head of house. They were being subtly manipulated into behaving by the house point system which was only effective so long as the students were convinced that the "points" were worth the reward. And the detentions in Hogwarts were a complete joke, so there was nothing really keeping them in line but a thin promise that held no actual merit.

And when Skull pointed said fact out, it would mean all out anarchy in very short order. _Especially_ since he would include an Anti-Howler charm to keep everyone's ears safe from Molly Weasley's banshee like voice.

Blaise liked having an almost peaceful school year. He did _not_ want to deal with that much chaos unless someone had pissed him off enough to warrant it.

Eyeing the twins, he came to a rather sensible decision.

"What can we do for a little snake?" asked George grinning.

"I'm here to offer a deal. I'll help you in pranking Harry in exchange for blanket immunity from anything your minds come up with aimed at me specifically," said Blaise flatly.

"And what's in it for us?" asked Fred. Though he definitely looked intrigued. Potter had been one-upping them all last year.

"I can arrange for an entire summer far, far away from your mother in which you can experiment with semi-illegal potion ingredients so long as you don't drag me into your hi-jinks. If your mother asks, you're trying to keep Harry from being corrupted by the Slytherins or are trying to set him up with your sister," said Blaise flatly.

"Tempting, tempting," said George rubbing his chin.

"I also have it on good authority Harry knows who the Marauders are since it's highly doubtful the teachers would give you their real names in fear of you being inspired by them directly. I could...persuade... him to relinquish that information."

Blaise barely noted the parchment paper lobbed at his head, and unraveled it.

"Correction. Harry will give you full access to both Marauders in exchange for your brother's pet rat."

Fred blinked.

"Why would he want Ron's rat? Scabbers is next to useless."

"According to this he needs a test subject. He'd be willing to pay the cost of a new wand for Ron if you hand over Scabbers. Oh, and he wants to make sure you know to put him in an escape-proof cage so he doesn't get gypped by accident," said Blaise, reading the note that Harry had charmed to show what he was writing on the other half. "He trusts you to hold your end of the deal, but he doesn't want his new victim... I mean _test subject_ to escape before he has a chance to play with it."

The twins looked at each other.

"Fair enough. When does he want to make the trade?"

Odds were Ron would happily give up that useless rat in exchange for money to get a proper wand. Charlie's was about to fall apart.

Blaise looked at the paper in confusion.

"It says Honeyduke's passage at midnight tonight," he said, not really sure if he was reading this right.

The twins exchanged another glance. Suddenly the chance that Harry Potter would know the real names of the Marauders enough to arrange a meeting didn't sound nearly as far-fetched.


	15. Chapter 15

Skull grinned at the caged traitor with the gaze of a snake about to devour a particularly unfortunate mouse.

Blaise looked at the rat with an expression of dawning realization as to the true nature of the creature. Viper was purely impassive.

"A true pity I cannot experiment on him properly," sighed Verde.

"As much fun as that would be, he's still of some use. I won't chance those sheep keeping Sirius in that place with how foolish the so-called 'justice' system is in the enclaves," said Skull. "That being said, odds are that no one will complain if we cite that he owes us a blood debt and just _happens_ to disappear after people no longer care about him."

Verde's grin was positively insane.

"Why couldn't you have been this interesting from the start?"

"Because these fools nearly broke me and I had no reason to indulge in my Black heritage. Took a few decades as the Cloud Arcobaleno for certain 'morals' to die off properly and for me to enjoy dealing with scum like this. Besides, if we time this properly then Snape will have patented the potion recipe I gave him right as Sirius meets Remus again," said Skull.

"Why should that matter?"

"Because Sirius will read the tagline I gave Snape about how I see werewolves right before Lupin goes to apologize for not trusting him and might drive him to the point that Lupin will hex him on principle."

Because there was no way in _hell_ Sirius Black would ever pass up a chance to annoy the hell out of his last remaining friend by making several comments about how the werewolf curse was the "furry equivalent of a communicable period". If he had managed to retain enough of his old self to make those horrible Sirius/serious puns, then he would latch onto that line in a heart beat just because he could while lamenting that no one thought of it while they were in school so James could join in.

"I still can't believe you compare the werewolf curse to a woman's period," said Viper in fond annoyance.

"Just be glad I'm not letting Cygnus have the chance to marry you off to someone who might be one of our cousins because your core has been fixed," said Skull.

"What?!" said Viper.

"I got a letter from Arcturus saying Cygnus and Druella were planning to use their status as your grandparents to start making inquiries about marrying you off to better the family," said Skull. "Which fell through almost immediately for several reasons, chief of which the fact that they threw _you_ out under false pretenses and I took you into my branch of the family as my sister. According to Arcturus and the goblins, I can reject any marriage proposals made by them despite the fact they're your grandparents."

Viper looked very relieved at that. She wanted nothing to do with the people who kicked her out so callously on the streets when she was a child. All because of circumstances that had never been in her control to begin with.

"That being said, Arcturus made it clear that he expects you to marry in a way that benefits the family or at least have a contract drafted up to an acceptable male before he croaks."

Viper looked somewhat displeased hearing that, but she trusted Skull not to marry her off to someone completely intolerable.

"You have someone in mind, I hope."

"Fon. It keeps them from pushing one of their girls on me who would only marry me out of duty, and it means I know you'll be in good hands. And if I word it right then everyone will be happy, since I think you two would make a cute and slightly terrifying couple."

Verde coughed into his hand and looked away. He remembered the discreet flirting between Fon and Viper, before the curse put a sudden and painful halt to it. Fon still liked Viper, but she had put so much effort into breaking the curse that their feelings were never reciprocated.

Clearly Skull intended to correct that. Among many other poorly thought out pairings, if the way he was clearly intent on matching Verde up with Hermione was any indication. That or Luna.

Granger was interesting, but that was about it. He'd give her a few years to mature before he made any decisions in that regard.

"Now what are we going to do with this rat?" asked Blaise.

"Dobby, could you deliver this to Arcturus? Tell him this will insure Sirius is released and that I have plans for this filthy traitor once he's sentenced for his crimes. Be sure to deliver this note first," said Skull.

Dobby nodded eagerly, before disappearing with Pettigrew in tow.

* * *

Sirius could not believe the abrupt change in his fortune of late.

To begin, he was suddenly tossed into the "holding" area (which was relatively free of dementors) and given something close to a proper bath for the first time since that night. Along with some moderately cheap robes (likely transfigured from something else) and a proper meal.

The next morning he was marched into the Ministry for the long-overdue trial.

Which was over in less than two hours due to several factors.

One, they shoved Veritaserum down his throat. Two, the sleeves were both removed to reveal his arms were clear of the dark mark and a spell cast to prove he had never been 'granted' one after they asked if he was ever a death eater. Three, his great uncle Arcturus revealed a certain caged rat and cited a blood debt the second it was revealed that not only was Pettigrew very much alive, but that he was in fact responsible for sending the false Dark Lord to the Potters in the first place.

Sirius didn't know why his great uncle declared a blood debt to be paid and that the Blacks would handle Peter's punishment...but from the look on the coward's face, he had the feeling the traitor would much rather be thrown into Azkaban rather than face whatever it was his great uncle had planned.

By the end of the day Sirius was still in shock over the fact that not only was he free (the illegal animagus thing had been overlooked with a stern reprimand and all fines waved so long as he registered once he had gone through therapy), but Peter had been caught.

Seeing his old headmaster, Sirius sneered at the bastard... he had _known_ that they had decided to go with Peter and use Sirius as a decoy and had allowed him to languish in that hellhole this entire time. Worse, he had sent Hagrid to insure that his godson would grow up without him... there was no arguing with that man if Dumbledore gave him an order, so he had reluctantly trusted the headmaster while he hunted down the traitor.

He ignored the old man without a second thought, to the open approval of his uncle.

Once safely behind the Black family wards, Arcturus handed him a glass of the good scotch...after swearing profusely at discovering several bottles missing.

Apparently someone had drank his uncle under the table and then helped themselves to his cabinet while he was out cold. Sirius would have toasted them on a good prank if he knew who pulled it off.

"Before you say anything I want to know exactly where your loyalties lie. Is it to the Family or to the headmaster?"

"Dumbledore can go fuck a goat," said Sirius flatly. "He left me there to rot and I only joined his stupid club to piss off my mother."

"Good. Though if you side with him again there _will_ be consequences."

"When can I see Harry?" asked Sirius. That was his only priority at this time.

"Not until Christmas. As part of your release you are not to go near him until you've completed at _least_ three months of therapy. You are also under house arrest until you are fit to return to polite society, though I will allow visitors."

Which meant he would tolerate the werewolf so long as Lupin agreed to take the potion which had become readily available for werewolves.

"How did you know about Peter?"

"My heir found evidence in his mother's diaries that indicated that someone else had betrayed them. As it stands your brother's honor as a Black has been redeemed thanks to the information he uncovered while Bellatrix has been cast out."

Sirius slowly put his glass down.

"What happened to Regulus?"

"He discovered how far Voldemort was willing to go to pervert his own magic and paid in blood to rectify his error in joining his forces. As for Bella, once we discovered what she had willingly placed in her vault we removed her from the family permanently. At least her daughter isn't nearly as big a disgrace," said Arcturus in disgust.

Sirius vaguely recalled the sound of a squalling infant one morning less than a year after being tossed into his cell. There was a lot of shouting and arguing, before the sound slowly drifted off. He had no idea his insane cousin had been _pregnant_ when she was locked up or that she had managed to carry it to term.

"What house was he sorted in?"

"Slytherin, though everyone is under the mistaken belief that he is a misplaced Gryffindor."

Sirius' blinked.

"Tell me more."

"Well for starters the brat has all the luck of the Potter family with the morals of a proper Black. Little bastard wouldn't know how to maneuver in 'polite' society if you paid him, but has charisma coming out the ass. At the same time his view on magic is decidedly gray and he won't hesitate to end someone if they sufficiently piss him off enough. Little blighter openly admitted to murdering his uncle and aunt in cold blood and the ring _still_ accepted him because the aunt was merely collateral damage," said Arcturus dryly.

Sirius blinked.

"What? Which family was he placed with?!" said Sirius in disbelief.

"According to Dumbledore, he was placed with his muggle aunt for 'security' reasons," said Arcturus.

Sirius made a face.

" _Petunia_? That senile bastard put him with Petunia?!"

"I take it you know of her then?"

"Lily complained about her more than once. Said the bitch hated magic and the horse faced bint called her a 'freak' at the wedding! She wanted nothing to do with Lily after their parents were killed and made it known in spades!" said Sirius. "What's he like?"

Arcturus pulled out a pensieve.

"Here are all the interactions I've had with him so far. He plans on handing over that pathetic rat to someone who will put him to proper use that will make Azkaban look like a bloody vacation by the time he's done with him."

Sirius came out of the pensieve with an odd look on his face.

"Think he'd be willing to meet with me?"

"You hear of the one who writes under the pen name 'Midnight Marauder'?" asked Arcturus dryly.

Sirius had gotten a real kick out of the name, which only went up when he found out the sort of articles they were writing. It took skill to stir up that much chaos while at the same time keeping people from wanting to lynch the writer for making them see the truth of things. Some of those articles on Dumbledore alone were pretty eye opening.

"I have... few of the guards shared their copy of the Prophet when they were done...mostly the articles about Voldemort. Why?"

"Who did you think wrote them?" said Arcturus.

Seeing the next article before it was published had been a surprise, but he had approved of the trick. He was taking chunks of out several people's hides and no one could fully pin the blame on him.

Sirius looked like he had been slapped repeatedly by a fish. The Arcturus handed him the paper Harry had asked him to pass on to the old Marauder.

"He said to give this to you once the trial was over and before I lower the creature wards to allow that werewolf friend of yours to visit. It will hit the stands shortly after he shows up and before the paper is officially delivered via house elf. So you have plenty of time to come up with 'effective ammunition' against your friend," said Arcturus dryly. "'With compliments from the Midnight Marauder', I believe were his words. He said to pay particular attention to the description of werewolves used by the maker of the potion."

Sirius slowly began to read the article... about halfway through it his mouth dropped and he re-read it several times. Then his body began to shake, before he started howling with laughter, tears of amusement streaming down his face.

Any worries he had about his godson were erased completely... because only a true Marauder would think of a mass prank like this and actually get away with it.

On an unrelated note Remus was less than amused when he found out where Sirius got the idea to call his curse the "magical equivalent of a communicable period" along with several insinuations that perhaps he had been born the wrong gender.


	16. Chapter 16

Skull looked at Sirius. Sirius looked back at his godson.

"Remind me again why you helped free him?" asked Camellia dryly, moving a page in her book.

Outside of tormenting Lockhart, the year had been rather boring. On the plus side, she had gotten much better at the finer aspects of her illusions and was slowly chipping away at the man's sanity. Verde was rather pleased with his new vic... er, unwilling test subject after Skull cheerfully presented the bound and gagged form of one Peter Pettigrew. Thanks to several spells and the fact he owed a massive blood debt to the house of Black, Pettigrew couldn't escape even if he wanted. Not even his rat form would save him.

Peter had come to fear the deranged Lightning who was rather gleeful at the fact he had both a test subject that could work for both animal trials and human testing. Or a general reliever of his boredom. The odds of him maintaining his sanity were dropping every time Verde came to visit the man with something new to play with.

"Because it would have been a complete pain in the ass if I was the one trying to free him. Besides he might turn out to be somewhat tolerable with a little house training...and possibly a quick vet visit. From what I understand neutering is done a lot quicker than spaying."

"If you even think of going near my balls with a knife I'll piss in your bed...and not as a dog either," growled Sirius.

"Bring it you impotent old geezer," smirked Skull.

"I'll show you old you brat!" said Sirius, tackling him.

Camellia rolled her eyes and merely created an illusion to elevate her far above the male bonding session.

Sirius came out of it with a black eye and a few loose teeth, but he was grinning wildly. It was like having James back!

"I'm so proud of you! With any luck you'll have a harem of honeys by the time you graduate!"

Camellia didn't hide her reaction. She started cracking up.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Harry has already made his opinion of harems very clear when the term started. The short and simple answer is he wants nothing to do with one because they're too much trouble."

Sirius stared at his godson in horror.

"Is this true?"

"Only an idiot would want one. One or two I could handle, but any more than that and it would be more trouble than it's worth."

"But, but..."

"Now this I have to hear," said Remus. "Care to explain your reasoning?"

"It's expensive, the time management required would be nearly impossible to pull off, and there's no way any wizard would be able to have the stamina to keep a proper harem happy without killing himself to pull it off," said Skull listing his reasons. "That and I'm a bit of a romantic at heart, so the idea of a 'harem' has never really appealed to me."

Seeing the two older wizards staring at him, Skull repeated the same reasoning he gave his housemates.

"Keeping everyone clothed, fed, and other romantic gifts adds up the more people inside the harem...and don't get me started on the long term costs of the inevitable pregnancies. Then there's the time and effort that goes into a proper date, and you'd have to consider how much time is enough to spend with each girl so they don't feel neglected or unloved without making any of the others jealous in return. And of course the physical aspect comes with a few pitfalls, like the fact that every time you finish you expend a lot of fluids and energy, and if you don't give yourself sufficient time to rest and recover you could end up killing yourself by accident," he listed.

Remus was smirking at a gobsmacked Sirius.

"It seems Harry puts more thought into the subject than you ever did Padfoot."

"But... but..."

"Like I said, I could live with dating one or two girls, but an entire harem would be a step too far," said Skull. "And if you do it right, or if you find a girl or girls willing to share with perfect strangers then the point of a harem becomes rather moot because you'd be getting some every night anyway."

"Lily would be proud while laughing at your father if she ever heard that," said Remus snickering. "While James would be joining Sirius."

"Are there at least any girls who catch your fancy?" asked Sirius desperately.

Skull made a face.

"Are you nuts? Why in the name of Loki would I even _consider_ any girl from the English Enclaves? The inbreeding around here has reached ridiculous levels and only an idiot would want to marry someone that could easily be their cousin," said Skull in disgust.

"Is that why you've set me up with Fon once he passes the requirements you set?" asked Camellia.

"That and I honestly think you two would make a cute couple."

"So it has nothing to do with the fact you're trying to dissuade his clan from marrying one of their more attractive females off in an effort to curry favor with you?" she added dryly.

"I would rather marry for love, not because the girl agreed to the match out of a sense of duty thank you very much," said Skull.

"Why would a family want to curry favor with you?" asked Sirius intently.

"Because an annoying overgrown rooster that happens to be the actual source of the myths that having a phoenix bonded to you automatically makes you a good leader has adopted me as it's new owner," said Skull flippantly. "And the person I asked to keep an eye on him happens to belong to a very long, distinguished clan of Chinese descent, many of whom are notable mages. In his case he's considered a martial arts prodigy as well as a strong wizard, though he prefers not to use magic. Thanks to the fact I asked him to keep an eye on the bird his clan has risen rather high in the esteem of the Chinese Emperor. So long as they are in my good favor and the bird agrees to stick around their home, they have a lot of pull among the Chinese enclaves."

Remus stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you telling me a _feng-huang_ is bonded to you?!" he said in complete shock.

"A what?" said Sirius.

"Asian variant of the phoenix, except they are true immortals and don't have the whole death and rebirth cycle. Extremely rare to the point they're considered myths and will only appear before someone who would easily fit the qualifications for a saint at the very least," said Remus.

Sirius blinked twice at that.

"I thought phoenixes were light oriented?"

"Phoenixes aren't light or dark, they're simply beings of magic," said Skull. "The only reason people in Europe seem to think a phoenix is a light oriented creature is partially because of the stories of the Feng-Huang, or Ho-Ou, but mostly because everyone assumed _Dumbledore_ is a 'light' wizard and thus anything associated with his image must be as well. If anything a Feng-Huang is even more picky than a bloody unicorn."

"So Harry, do you have any questions you want to ask me?"

"...What could I possibly have to ask from someone as ancient and boring as you?" asked Skull innocently. "I mean you can barely remember to shave, it's not like you'd know anything cool or interesting like driving a bike."

"Is that a challenge?"

"I'm bloody well stating that the old Marauders are complete hacks and that I know a pair of twins who would be more than happy to help me show you old farts how it's done," said Skull smirking.

Sirius' eyes gleamed and a spark of mischief appeared in Remus' eyes as well.

"Keep me and Blaise out of it," said Camellia.

"Would you rather visit your future intended for a bit while I show these two hacks who's superior when it comes to pranking and all around chaos?" asked Skull.

"...As a matter of fact, yes. Send Dobby or have Lark bring me back when you're done," said Camellia flatly.

"Lark!"

The massive bird appeared in a rather generous ball of fire, before looking at him.

"Mind bringing her to see Fon for a bit? I have a pair of old biddies who need a lesson in real pranking and she's asked to stay out of it."

Lark chirped before giving him a look.

"Fine, I'll call you more often and let you harass Fawkes. Deal?"

The bird bobbed it's head, before taking Camellia to visit Fon.

"Now, shall we get down to business or have your wands shriveled up from old age and one too many transformations?" said Skull, eyes gleaming.

"Oh it is so on now brat," said Sirius with dark glee.

* * *

 _In China_

Fon blinked when Lark reappeared with Camellia.

"What happened to you?"

"The idiot decided to get into a prank war with his recently freed godfather and his werewolf friend. I would rather not have to dodge their ridiculous attempts to out prank each other, thank you very much. Besides, this way we can test the waters to see if we're even compatible as a couple," said Camellia flatly.

A slow grin appeared on his face.

"Really now."

"I'm sure he'll share the memories and some of the pranks with you if you ask later. Again I would rather not get involved."

Fon's now infamous serene smile was put to quite a test. Not only did he get to spend the next few days with Camellia, but he knew Skull would happily share ideas to make things more...interesting... later once they saw each other again.

Fon took her hand and gave the top of it a light kiss. Camellia's blush made all those lessons on courtship entirely worth it.

"Well my Lady, shall I give you a proper tour around the city?" he asked hopefully.

"You may," she said in a 'generous' tone, still blushing.

At least Skull had good taste when it came to pairing people off. Fon was quite the catch and he would only get better with age and experience. The fact he was a gentleman and able to keep up with her was just a very nice bonus.

Best of all he was allowed a few days off from his martial arts training once his shifu found out what the situation was. Spending time with his potential betrothed was a perfectly acceptable reason to take a break, especially considering the fact that Fon's clan was trying to curry favor with Camellia blood brother.

"I have to ask, how exactly did your core..."

"We were hunting down mythical creatures with a pair of Lovegoods when one of them came charging at us. I didn't have time to cast any illusions and the other two were too shocked at it's appearance to be of any use. He threw himself in front of me in time to stop me from being gutted and was loosing a lot of blood almost too quickly for his Flames to work in time. Fortunately Verde had our blood type tested before we went traveling and I was a match for his, so we were able to do an emergency transfusion...good thing Verde keeps all those sterilized needles and medical supplies on hand," said Camellia, sipping her tea. "When Skull woke up the first thing he asked was if I was alright, then he called me his sister before he went back into a healing sleep. A few days later we started to notice some changes in my appearance, and Verde decided to have me test one of his machines. That's when we found out my magical core was starting to correct itself and was actually siphoning off the excess magic coming off Skull's own core to fix the pathways that had were so badly damaged. Verde suspects that the blood magic the Black family practices in combined with Skull's Sky Flames acted as some sort of makeshift glue that filled the cracks left by Azkaban's wards."

"Really?"

"I was already harmonized with Skull as his Mist Guardian, so magic decided that since we already considered each other brother and sister that the donation of blood to keep him alive was enough of a reason to make it official. Technically my name is now Potter-Black, since he claimed me as family a long time ago," said Camellia.

"So does that mean you're no longer the Steward?" asked Fon with interest.

"It means any children I produce will automatically be considered a 'branch' family, with Skull's children being part of the main family," said Camellia. "It also means there's a very high chance I might inherit the Potter family magicks when I reach my magical majority on top of the Black magic. It's debatable whether I'd get anything from the Lestrange, since my grandparents on that side were quick to disinherit me the second they learned from Cygnus that the wards had rendered me almost a complete 'squib'. They were rather displeased that Skull had become my magical and legal guardian and thus could nullify any contracts they tried to make on my behalf."

The two enjoyed their peaceful chats over tea. Fon was an avid listening as he asked intelligent questions in regard to what sort of magic the Blacks practiced, and Camellia didn't mind his company at all considering how polite and even tempered he was.

Fon had to laugh as he convinced Camellia to try some of his favorite dishes...seeing her quickly reach for the milk at the sheer spice content was rather amusing.

She laughed at him at the sulking expression on his face when, after soothing her poor tongue, she dumped the remainder of the milk on his head. It took a few minutes for his sulking to drop at the sound her amusement.

She was almost reluctant to leave when Dobby appeared and informed her that Arcturus had put the boys in an overdue time out when they dragged him into one too many pranks not geared towards anyone in particular.

The old wizard glared at her with some annoyance.

"And where have you been? You're supposed to reign these fools in!"

"I was spending time with my betrothed because even I know it was easier to let these idiots get it out of their system now than suffer _months_ of it during the summer," she replied flatly. "His teacher made sure to keep us both within eyesight at all times and I spent the nights with his sister."

Arcturus grumbled.

"Well at least you have more sense than these idiots," he said, accepting her reasoning. "What's your opinion of your potential betrothed?"

"He is leagues above what's currently available in my age range at the school. Fon is mature, intelligent and very diligent in his studies. He didn't even flinch when I gave him a general description of the Black family battle magics or the fact we still use blood runes on our more creative projects. In fact he actually suggested a few ideas on how to combine some of the styles he's studying with a few of the more widespread spells for maximum effect."

Arcturus nodded in approval.

"And his family?"

"Distinguished line of pure bloods, though not all are magical in origin. Squibs are kept around because they're still a source of potential magical blood later down the line or at least have the chance to produce soul fire, and they keep very close track of their cousins and marry outside the family often."

"Why?" asked Arcturus.

"Because Fon's clan believes that while marrying to keep the bloodline pure is 'fine', marrying those with great potential to elevate the family with fresh blood and ideas is better," replied Camellia.

Fon had explained that his clan found the idea of marrying 'in-house', so to speak, was a very foolish idea because it could easily encourage stagnation in the family magic and behavior. Good breeding was considered important to an extent, but having a high potential to bring either new magics, gold or even prestige to the clan as a whole was even better. It was why they encouraged their children to go abroad often to find potential matches, and if they found the suitor acceptable then it would be approved.

Hence why none of the elders were too upset by the fact that a potential martial arts prodigy now had an active betrothal contract with a very nice witch of good breeding with strong connections to someone who was bonded to a Feng-Huang. A witch that was already proving her potential with indigo soul fire and had a very good head for increasing her vaults with gold. Thanks to her the Potter accounts were truly flourishing with the investments she had been making both magical and mundane.

* * *

 _Back at Hogwarts..._

"Fred, George could you come here a second? I got a package from home and I'd like your input..." said Skull grinning.

He knew a trap when he saw one.

"What do you need Harry?" asked Fred. They practically considered him the seventh Weasley brother at this point...he got along with all of them save for Ron, who had "opinions" on 'filthy Slytherins'.

"Need your help lifting this bloody thing up. I think Arcturus sent some books or something, but I don't have the arm strength to carry it back to the tower. Charms must have failed when the owl delivered it or something," said Skull with a straight face.

The _second_ they touched the box, their skin turned a bright fluorescent red with thick indigo streaks and green accents. Then the box sprang open with a prank potion that completely doused them from head to toe in vibrant glitter.

Skull, having expected as much, avoided the second part with a lightning-fast shield charm.

"...You knew it was trapped didn't you?" asked George.

"I knew Padfoot would never let something as silly as me being in school stop him from continuing our prank war that I started on Christmas," agreed Skull. "I also know a temporary gender-switching potion that we can coat something innocuous with as payback for a rather poorly executed prank. That or we could have Dobby leave a port key lying around that would dump Padfoot and Moony in a room full of gay drag queens who would be more than happy to show them a 'good time'."

"Are you saying we have the chance to one-up Padfoot and Moony?" said Fred wide eyed.

"I'm saying the son of Prongs isn't about to let some washed up has-beens like the old Marauders actually win at a prank war when we won't be limited to purely magical pranking methods," said Skull evenly. "I'm also saying that there's a pretty high chance we could rope _Snape_ into this once he knows who we're trying to surpass so long as we agree never to turn it on him later."

The evil smiles on the faces of the twins sent cold shivers down the spine of McGonagall.

And Snape did in fact agree to help them outdo the Marauders. Once he stopped his dark cackling at the thought of using James Potter's son to completely humiliate Sirius and Remus that is.


	17. Chapter 17

"Wait... _Padfoot_ is going to be our DADA teacher?" said the twins in shock.

"After someone finally claimed the bounty on Lockhart, yes. At least temporarily since he hasn't completed his therapy yet. Moony is planning to take over for the Care of Magical Creatures class with Hagrid as his assistant and substitute next year," said Skull, sipping his coffee.

"Bounty?"

"I posted a joke 'bounty' to see how long it took bored male students and less than amused females with actual taste to drive Lockhart out of the castle or into St. Mungo's for sanity issues. Camellia just paid it out yesterday to Flint and Chang. Anyway he said he wanted better access to get us with some 'proper' pranks and to see McGonagall's head explode."

Remus would make a good COMC teacher, and with Hagrid to cover him for full moons things would work out perfectly.

Snape had looked sour about the whole idea of both Marauders in the castle again, teaching, until Skull cheerfully pointed out a simple fact that he had forgotten.

"Harry" was a Slytherin, and thus had no reason to hold back on a pair of former Gryffindors, and this meant Snape could drop all sorts of insinuations about it being "That time of the month" for Lupin and discreetly delivering him feminine hygiene products every full moon on top of giving him lady's undergarments.

As for Sirius... well Skull had found out by accident the first time around that he was very vulnerable to a common dog whistle...even outside his dog form, he could still hear the bloody thing. So was Remus, for that matter, but only during his monthly transformations.

Snape looked like Skull had handed him the crown jewels with that information. And damn near hugged him when Skull proudly handed him his own dog whistle in a nicely wrapped box...with the reminder not to use it in the Slytherin dorms since Skull _was_ the official caretaker of Hagrid's Cerberus Fluffy.

"You're going to be driving them both up the walls, aren't you?" asked Fred.

"Hell yes! Half the fun of pranks is driving another prankster insane and proving your superiority!"

"McGonagall is going to kill us," said George, already grinning at the thought.

"What's the worst she can do? I've checked the rules inside and out, and there's not a single one that says you can't unleash chaos via pranks. They can assign detentions and take away points, but they can't legally expel you," said Skull.

Blaise suddenly materialized by his side and had him by the ear.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't explain _that_ to them without giving me forewarning."

"I'm not... I'm just telling them that the old cat can't expel them for pranking the hell out of the Marauders and Snape will likely look the other way as long as they don't target him."

"Does this have anything to do with the broken whistle you gave Snape?"

"It's actually a dog whistle," said Skull helpfully. "And if it helps I'll show you how to use the Marauder's Map so you know when to avoid certain areas of the castle if you see certain people spending a wee bit too much time around it that you know are pranksters."

"Give up the map to someone who would use it to avoid our pranks?"

"Let me rephrase that in a way you'd appreciate. He uses the map and agrees to act as our alibi if the teachers stumble across our pranks and says he was with us in a random abandoned classroom the entire time so it wasn't us."

"Oh. Well if you put it like _that_ ,"said Fred appreciatively.

"Besides, McGonagall might be willing to look the other way if you're willing to sacrifice a bit of dignity," said Skull.

"We're listening," said the twins.

"Ever worn a kilt?" grinned Skull. "A proper red and gold one, at least. We could shove Ron into one that's maroon and burgundy!"

Seeing the matching grins on their faces, Skull cackled.

"What about you? We'll wear red and gold kilts for the rest of the year only if you wear one as well," said Fred.

"I have a really fun idea... let's see who can one up _Dumbledore_ for the most horrific design and color combination on our kilts," said Skull, rubbing his hands.

* * *

The next morning, everyone was staring in horror at what Harry Potter-Black and the twins were wearing. Well everyone but McGonagall.

"Are you fools trying to butter me up for something?" she asked with thin amusement.

"We have a standing bet to see who can one-up Dumbledore while wearing a kilt," said Skull with cheer. "Well, everyone but Ron anyway."

Ron looked decidedly sullen at being forced to wear his Weasley sweeter and a maroon kilt.

"...Is that why you are wearing a bright violet and orange kilt with little octopuses, owls, phoenixes and a Cerberus on the bottom?" asked Daphne, pinching her nose.

"You missed the fact that the trim is silver and green," said Skull helpfully. "And that the phoenix is actually one of the Asian variants and therefor is much more colorful than that drab bird the headmaster is always toting about as his symbol."

"Dear gods, what did we do to deserve this sort of torture?" asked Tracy in open disgust.

"Look at the bright side," said Camellia.

"There's a bright side to seeing such a fashion travesty?" demanded Daphne.

"Once the year is over Blaise and I will look the other way if you happened to 'forcibly correct' my dear brother's entire wardrobe, both muggle and magical."

"You wouldn't dare," said Skull horrified.

"Did you say something Harry? I could have sworn I imagined the sound of your pleas for help once the girls are done giving you a proper make over," said Blaise "innocently". "In fact I'm sure the Gryffindors would _happily_ ignore the pleas of the twins for similar reasons."

Seeing the speculative looks on the female lions, there was every chance they'd forgo waiting until the end of the year.

"Professor McGonagall, may we be excused?" asked Katie Bell.

"If it's for the reason I'm thinking, you're not only excused but you have my blessings," said McGonagall dryly.

Skull smirked at the horrified looks on the twin's faces.

"Remember to use protection! There's no telling what sort of things they've done to each other or have in their pockets!" he called out.

The girls all shared a grin with each other while the twins just looked at him betrayed...and slightly horrified he would even _suggest_ they had done such things to each other.

"Now, are we going to have to hex you into submission or will you come quietly?" demanded Daphne. Snape didn't care either way, and they all knew it.

"Do I at least get to pick the color scheme? Much as I like green or silver, I'd rather not just stick to just those two," he asked hopefully.

"As long as the color is tasteful and not in any variant of orange. I'm sorry to say that you couldn't possibly pull it off and it would just make you look pasty," said Tracy with a sniff.

"Purple then?"

"Acceptable within reasons," said Daphne. "To the shopping!"

* * *

"So just to be clear... my godson came up with a long-standing outrageous bet against those rather amusing twins and the girls hijacked him for a shopping expedition which may or may not have included them getting several items of personal nature that is normally kept under the rather boring uniform and he had to give his honest opinion?" said Sirius slowly, as if trying to assure himself that he was hearing this right.

"Pretty much," said Blaise, sipping his drink.

"My godson is so manly! James would be so proud! Not even he managed to get that lucky before he hit puberty!" said Sirius.

"How _did_ he convince the girls to give him that kind of a show?" asked Remus.

"While he's a brash idiot, he's polite, well mannered and a bit of an open romantic. I think a lot of them liked the fact he wasn't even remotely interested in having a harem at any point and would be content to stick with one or two girls with an open relationship if they were interested. The fact he's rich and good looking is just bonus," said Blaise dryly. "He has this 'kicked puppy' vibe going for him and his eye level never strays to their bust or their ass and he treats the girls as his equals regardless of their family status."

Skull was very polite to the girls and treated them with actual respect and never tried to take advantage of them. They could tell he was a genuine nice guy who would be perfect dating material in the future once his hormones kicked in.

"Kicked puppy?" repeated Sirius incredulous.

"He does this thing where he shrinks in on himself when people are yelling and gives off the aura of a kicked puppy expecting to be beaten even if it's done nothing wrong. It's highly effective because half the time he's not faking it in the least," said Camellia in disgust. "And if he hadn't already killed the bastards responsible for causing that sort of instinct in him, I'd have taken great pleasure in emulating my 'dear' mother's bad habits to show them what a bad idea it was to hurt him."

Sirius stared at her.

"Harry's already killed?" he asked. He had thought Arcturus was exaggerating because even he knew that the old magicks really didn't like Kinslayers inheriting.

"He doesn't like doing it and he keeps giving my mother ideas on how to use common items to commit murder that can't be traced back to her via magical means. Most of her 'husbands' are pure bloods and no one has figured out how she's been able to get around the loopholes in the contracts they sign in order to get their gold," said Blaise flatly. "You tend to pick up a few things when you're part of the underworld. He does have certain rules about it though, so no one's commented on the fact he's a natural assassin."

"Do I want to know what that means?" asked Sirius.

"Not if you want to maintain the image of your godson being an 'innocent'," said Blaise. "There's a reason why the hat put him in Slytherin so fast."

"So where is Harry now?" asked Remus.

"He's introducing the wonders of a proper base to Newt Scamander, with the suggestion that they spend the summer at sea observing the deeper sea life," said Blaise. "Last I checked he had bought a small yacht that would allow them to travel the oceans and was planning to look into some island."

"He said he'd give me specifics once he had anything concrete," said Camellia.

They had no idea Skull was looking into whether Mafia Land was up and running, and if so what it would take to get an invite there.

He wanted to visit the moving amusement park without the annoyance of trying to invade the place and being kicked off without properly enjoying any of it. And if he had tried to go there when he _wasn't_ invading the place (all the Arcobaleno had a standing invitation so long as they weren't part of one of the banned famiglias), then odds were that Colonello would have ruined it by treating him as a lackey the entire time.

So it was with great surprise that as they were about to settle in for dinner for the night, that several alarms went off.

Seeing Skull show up with Lark set several alarms going off in their heads.

"What's going on?"

"That alarm is specifically set to a friend of mine. A Sun named Renato... if they're going off like that it means he's in some trouble and might need some rescuing," explained Skull.

It took Camellia an hour to find out where Renato was, and another thirty minutes for them to convince Skull that, "No, you can't go charging in half-cocked like a Gryffindor, you idiot! Call for reinforcements first!", in the words of Camellia and Blaise.

Fon was suspiciously eager to test out his skills on people who wouldn't be missed.

Skull gave him an odd look.

"Why do I have the feeling you're going to use this opportunity to harmonize with me later?" asked Skull.

Fon gave him an almost serene smirk.

"Let's just say there's been not-so-quiet inquiries from parties that are rather persistent, and that despite Lark being entrusted to me personally by his bonded that the ones bothering me are becoming increasingly irritating to avoid," said Fon.

"Uh-huh. Triads find out you're Active and decided that you'd be better serving them as one of their top men because of the overgrown rooster?" said Skull flatly.

"The laws clearly state I either become bonded to one of the families, or I find an appropriate Sky now that I'm active," confirmed Fon unhappily. "Unless I turn out to be too strong, then I'd need to watch my back until I make a major name for myself."

Skull couldn't help but wonder if Fon had been this trapped the first time around. Instead he put his hand on the teen's shoulder in sympathy.

"Be glad you're not European. Then you'd have to deal with the stigma of being a Storm and having everyone automatically think you're a brash moron who rages... it's worse for Lightnings though. And once we rescue Ren from whatever he's gotten into, I'd be happy to see if we're a good match. Somehow I doubt there will be any actual problems though."

Not if the fact he managed to bond with Viper as his Mist was any indication. Though it did beg the question of whether he'd end up tapped as the Sky Arcobaleno rather than the Cloud.

Nah... not if Sky was mostly his secondary and Cloud was his primary, from what little he knew of Flames.


	18. Chapter 18

**I am so sorry minna! I was snowed in and it was too dangerous to visit the library until the snow melted (it's at the bottom of a steep hill). So to make up for being gone so long I'll post a double update!**

* * *

Renato spat out a bit more blood, both thankful and hating the fact he was a Sun.

He was glad it was keeping him alive, but rather unhappy since it meant everything felt fresh when the thugs tried to 'loosen him up' when it came to their Sky. The woman had taken one look at him and there was this gleam in her eyes that made his skin crawl.

The fact he was too strong for her to subvert was a blessing though. He had _heard_ things about how Skies could make their Guardians submit to them through their Flames...how the Harmony factor could make them little more than mindless puppets eager for their next fix.

So it was with great surprise that he heard an explosion that wasn't exactly in the distance, but wasn't particularly close either.

"What is going on out there?" demanded the pampered little Sky. He was really starting to hate her.

"It seems we're being attacked, my lady," said the Storm.

"Well deal with them! I am not losing this Sun!" she practically shrieked in her simpering voice.

Renato sneered at her. If this was what Skies were like, he'd be better off having nothing to do with them.

Some wanted him for his skills as a budding hit man. Some wanted him because of his abnormal strength in Sun Flames. Others wanted him because of his looks and the fact he was clearly growing into them or his contacts.

Either way he was being hounded by Families left and right and wanted nothing to do with any of them. The only reason they even took an interest in him was because he was starting to make a name for himself in very short order.

It took him a minute to realize that the explosions had stopped, but the sound of fighting hadn't. Then the door blew open and he had to stare at a sight he'd never thought possible.

Skull, the ridiculous self-named kid who had helped him when he was at his lowest, was practically _wreathed_ in Cloud flames with his eyes glowing an ominous amethyst ringed with amber. He looked pissed.

Behind him were others, either fighting off the enemy or standing at his back. It was clear that the cloaked figure was Skull's right hand, and quite likely a Mist.

"Ren! Are you alright?" asked Skull with concerned.

"Who are you?" demanded the Sky shrilly.

"Dear Loki you're worse than a Weasley Howler," said Skull grimacing. Then he glared. "And you're the bitch trying to enslave my friend... no wonder those alarms went off."

Skull turned to the Mist at his side.

"I really don't want to get a reputation for hitting girls... Viper, do you mind?"

"Considering this is all her fault, not at all brother," said Viper evenly.

Viper stalked right up to the annoying Sky and punched her so hard that they broke her jaw.

"That felt oddly satisfying," said Viper, looking at their fist with amusement.

Skull made a sharp whistle, which drew the Chinese Storm he had found to the room. He made quick work of the bindings, and they put Renato on Skull's back, so he could concentrate on healing. Renato noticed with some interest there was another Cloud with them, which was rather odd as most Clouds preferred to be alone and tended to get snippy around others.

Then again meeting Skull had initially thrown him off in his assumptions of what Clouds were like. He was starting to suspect Skull was an inverted one, because that would explain far too much.

"So this is your friend that's been supplying you with all the current rumors in the mafia?" asked Blaise. "He looks like he got the shit beaten out of him."

"Considering the set up we found, it's possible that woman was trying to force him into becoming her Sun even though he's much stronger than she was," said Fon in disapproval.

That sort of behavior is _exactly_ why he was hoping Skull would be strong enough to match his Flames, because he had no desire to go through that in the event the Triads decided to quit being polite.

"I got some soup ready," said Skull frowning. "And thanks for punching that bitch for me sis."

"Not a problem, brother," said Camellia. "Her voice was especially grating."

"I think he's waking up," said Blaise, eyeing the Sun on the bed.

Skull practically teleported to his side.

"Ren! Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"I've been better. Where is this?"

"Somewhere in France... never bothered to ask where, just told Lark to take us someplace relatively safe where you can recover."

"Lark?" repeated Ren. Then he saw the bird and stared. "I thought phoenixes were a myth?"

"It's actually a Ho-Ou," said Fon, using the Japanese name for it. "But they do share similar abilities."

"How did you find me? Scratch that, why did you come?" asked Renato bewildered. He had learned early on not to trust anyone.

"You're my friend. Did you really think I was just using you to keep track of the gossip and rumors while I was stuck in that school? As for how I found you..."

"I have a unique psychic ability I prefer not to talk about. The second the alarms went off, Skull gathered those he could trust in order to get you out of there," said Viper calmly.

She had been skeptical of the rather disturbing ability to scry the locations of others through sneezing on paper, but after a few tries she found Skull hadn't been joking about her unique ability to track almost anyone so long as they were still living. Disgusting, but highly useful.

And since the Divination course in Hogwarts was practically useless, she knew she'd be spending a lot of time learning the real thing from Fon's clan while her brother was off gallivanting with Newt Scamander at sea.

Normally she'd join in, but she always got horribly seasick. Verde was going, which should be enough protection for the idiot.

Renato winced as he felt his bruised ribs.

"Easy. I made some stew so you can keep your energy up," said Skull, putting it down on a small side table within easy reach, along with a ladle-like spoon.

"Why did you come?" asked Renato bewildered. No one had ever come before.

"You're my friend. Why wouldn't I come when I knew you were in trouble? With how cutthroat the mafia is, it would have taken a miracle for you to escape otherwise," said Skull baffled.

Renato felt an odd warmth in his chest, realizing that the other boy was being entirely honest about that. How long had it been since he had friends he could trust? Since someone had shown honest concern about him and didn't do it for any sort of reward or favor to be repaid later?

He remembered how they first met. The way Skull had given him those sandwiches and the hot drink without asking for anything in return. How he had given him that bit of advice that had kept him from getting seriously ill or scarred from burns because he didn't know any better. How he had waved off the idea of charity as a favor to be repaid later if it made him feel better.

It took him a few minutes to realize Skull was rubbing his back.

"Easy Ren. You're among friends. We're not going to use you and we just want you to get better," said Skull soothingly.

That spark of warmth started to blossom into a conflagration, and once he had eaten the home-made stew, he went back to sleep. It was strangely comforting and felt a lot like he had found where he finally belonged. That he had comrades he could actually trust to have his back and not make demands after. It was surprisingly nice.

Blaise snorted.

"Looks like you've managed to get a Sun," he said.

Skull sighed, and let his Flames coil around the room. He hated having to keep them cooped up, even if he knew that it was safer that the old goat never find out he had Flames at all. Blaise relaxed contently, and after a moment Fon let his own loose. A surprised look came across his face, before he stretched on the couch like a content cat.

"...Are you actually _purring_?" asked Skull in amazement.

Fon had a sheepish look on his face.

"Maybe?"

Skull had a grin on his face, as he whispered something in Viper's ear. A smirk crossed her face, before she coaxed Fon into lying down on her lap instead...and then started to stroke her hand through his braid which had come loose. The odd 'purring' sound he had been making was much more obvious now, and he looked pretty pleased with his new spot.

"That is both hilarious and adorable," said Skull after a minute.

Blaise nodded in agreement, bemused more than anything.

"So what are you going to do with your new Sun?"

"...Flame bonds are considered magical soul bonds, right?"

"If properly registered with the goblins. They'll keep it quiet for a fee, but it's pretty steep."

"Which means Ren would be covered if I were to tell him about magic and then drag him along with us for the summer until the bond settles," said Skull.

Blaise blinked, before rubbing his chin.

"Doable, and rather practical. Allows him to ease into the magical society and if anyone asks you're technically covered because you're his Sky. I doubt the Vindice would get involved either way unless you made a nuisance of yourself."

"Which in Renato's case is almost a near certainty, but I'm pretty sure he'll avoid breaking Omerta," said Skull dryly. "Good thing I know how to cook in bulk, because Scamander can barely make pancakes and tea."

Blaise snorted, before he realized Skull wasn't joking.

"Seriously?"

"He barely knew how to make a decent stew, and looked decidedly relieved when I mentioned I knew how to cook well."

"Good to know," said Blaise.

"You get me a recipe I can read and understand and I can damn near make anything."

"He can," confirmed Verde. "Should have seen the looks on our faces during missions when it was impossible to get a cooked meal unless we made it ourselves. Skull got tired of everyone bickering about who would do the cooking and told us all flatly that so long as someone else did the dishes he would make the food just to shut us up. Imagine our shock finding out he was actually _good_ at it and beat anything the others could make."

Fon had cheerfully abused that fact the minute he found out Skull could actually make a proper Asian dish and didn't make the rice too soggy or too dry. Skull had gotten lessons from someone that knew what they were doing before he even considered trying to make it.

It was so hard to find proper rice outside of Asia, to Fon's annoyance.

"How many times did you guys basically crash in my place to get food that was actually edible?" said Skull amused.

"I honestly lost count. Didn't I kidnap you for a full month because of that?" said Verde amused.

"It was three, and you had this horrified look on your face the day you found out I not only knew how to cook, but I also cleaned your lab properly right down to the beakers," said Skull dryly.

Verde damn near had an apoplectic fit when he found out Skull had _cleaned_ his labs properly, until he realized that the Cloud hadn't touched any active experiments and mostly just put the papers in something close to order.

Blaise looked openly amused at that.

"You're positively domestic for a male," he commented.

"Side effect of the Durselys treating me like their own personal house elf," said Skull. "I ended up with a bunch of crappy memories and an almost ingrained case of OCD when it came to keeping things clean. On the plus side I'll never starve so long as I have the right ingredients."

"Why are you only middling in Potions then?" asked Blaise.

"That's only the written work. In case you haven't noticed, Snape generally gives me full marks on all my practical work. I said I can make a potion, I never said anything about being good with researching them. Finding rare ingredients, on the other hand..."

Snape had damn near hugged him when he found out some of the odd ingredients Skull had harvested or found while with the Lovegoods. The two did a brisk 'trade' where Snape helped Skull with some potions he was having trouble with in exchange for the ingredients to play with.

At this rate Skull was seriously considering just removing the Dark Mark from Snape and giving him a job offer outside Europe where he could research and patent his own potions in exchange for a rather hefty percentage in Skull's favor.

Snape hated teaching, so odds were he'd jump at the chance. Especially if some of his potions proved useful down the road... they still hadn't found a way to deal with those damn pacifiers yet.

* * *

 _The next morning..._

Renato had an odd look on his face when he realized what happened.

"You're a Sky?"

"Sky secondary. Not like I really _need_ the attention from that... being a Cloud is bad enough, especially since I'm inverted. People in Europe have a bad habit of thinking it's only the classics that are dangerous," said Skull.

"So..."

"You know that weird warmth in your chest, the one that makes you feel fuzzy and happy because you know there will always be someone to have your back? That's Harmony, which is nothing like what that stupid brat wanted from you," explained Skull.

"This idiot gets into enough trouble as it is without our input. Having a decent Sun who is good at killing as they are healing would be a major asset," said Viper.

"So you're his Right Hand then?" asked Renato.

"I'm his Left, though ironically he's better at dealing with people who annoy him too much than I am," said Blaise. "My mother was very pleased having a way to kill any new stepfather I might acquire in a way that won't show up using magic or Flames without actually having it lead back to her...even if cleaning up is a complete pain in the ass."

"Magic is real?"

"How did you think we managed to get from Italy to France so quickly without leaving traces for that chick to track us with? Since you're one of my Elements you're officially covered by the magical equivalent of Omerta, except instead of creepy as hell corpses coming after your ass if you break it they simply wipe all memories of magic from your mind...among other things," said Skull.

Renato twitched hearing that bit.

"I heard rumors that newly bonded tended to get...antsy...if they're apart for too long."

"Which is why we're kidnapping you and allowing you to see actual magic far, far away from the jurisdiction of anyone save for fish for the next few months. Word of warning, I have an actual Cerberus and the cave I have in my case is off-limits if you can't speak snake," said Skull.

Newt damn near had a heart attack finding out Skull had an _actual_ basilisk in his case. Especially when Skull cheerfully informed the man it was the "monster" from the actual Chamber of Secrets in the school.

He was so raiding that area properly next year, once boredom hit. He had visited Hogsmeade enough through the secret passages (Fred and George were very amused when he ran into them while they were supplying their friends with Firewhiskey one night) that there really wasn't any appeal to the place save for the discreet apparition points.

Like hell was he going to give up his addiction to proper fiction to read just because he was stuck in an out of the way school in the middle of nowhere.

Renato looked relieved hearing that.

"Besides, you look like you could use a vacation. Just don't kill anything that doesn't try to eat, maim or otherwise kill you first," said Skull. "Though if it's injured, just direct it my way so we can see if it's simply acting out of self-preservation and not just because you look tasty and it wants to eat you."

"Fair enough."


	19. Chapter 19

Renato looked rather harried...but he was still grinning like a mad man.

"He is _insane_ ," said Renato.

"Why did you think I was so quick to ask if I could learn proper scrying and divination from my betrothed's clan instead of joining him a second time?" deadpanned Viper.

She rather liked the moniker Viper... it was vicious and elegant, just like her. Camellia was positively soft, never mind that it's meaning changed when you brought up the various styles of flower language that existed.

"Have fun?" asked Fon.

"Like you wouldn't believe. Scamander was positively beside himself when he found out I have a knack for speaking Reptile and Insect. Apparently I have some form of green magic in me that allows me to understand non-human languages, though it's very limited."

"So you could get near the cave Skull put in for that damn snake of his?" asked Viper raising an eyebrow.

"Not even close. I could barely understand a word in three, though I could gist when it came to the regular snakes Skull rescued. And I got a new friend out of it," said Renato pleased.

There was this poor little lizard (Skull identified it as a chameleon) that was all dried out and about to be used for potion ingredients that they had rescued from a black market ring. They didn't stand a chance between the four of them.

Verde was positively giddy having some new things to play with, especially since odds were Snape would happily let him join in on his experiments since he proved he knew what he was doing last year. He was just glad he had gotten in as a second year rather than a first year due to his age.

"So what's your pet's name?" asked Blaise.

"I've been calling him Leon. At least now I have someone to talk to while you're at that school."

Skull rolled his eyes.

"Or you could, you know, use the mirror I gave you to call us. It's no different than a phone."

"I still find it weird that you're trying to produce these...cell phones... when people are still adjusting away from those ridiculous rotary ones."

"Once technology advances enough to mass produce them, we'll have cornered the market on the things. Soon they'll be so common place that even the youngest child will want one," said Verde smugly.

Considering how wide-spread the things were before they ended up in the past, they were going to make an absolute killing once the technology had caught up to where they needed it.

Or they could cheat (which was what Verde had already done with the phone he gave Skull) and use magic to speed things up. Skull had gotten some good results with enchanting crystals to produce sounds.

"I still find it weird to talk into a freaking compact mirror," said Renato.

"You're vain enough that people will just think you're being narcissistic and dismiss it if you're looking into the mirror for a message."

Skull had the "Mirror Phone" spells down pat. They worked almost like a very basic cell phone and were much cheaper to make than the real thing...at least for now anyway. Best of all there was nothing to be hacked, since they could only store the most basic of messages and sometimes they were lost because it had been stored for too long!

"How very 'kind' of you Skull," said Renato with a twitching eyebrow.

"You're welcome, sunshine," countered Skull.

Everyone watched with amusement as the two went at it like cats and dogs. It was like watching Skull with Lark on a good day.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" asked Remus.

"Why?" asked Blaise. "It's not like they're doing anything more than playing."

"That's playing?" said Remus.

"Some people like to argue with each other or fight. It's a weird sort of bonding most common in guys or girls that are equally attractive but are really weird rivals in a way," said Viper shrugging. "Skull does this all the time with Lark."

It might look like they hated each other to an outsider, but the reality was that they were pretty close. It was just one of those things that you had to see underneath the underneath to properly understand.

Sirius was nodding.

"I can see it," he said. "Some guys can only really communicate properly when they're letting it all out in a fight. If they were really fighting then they'd be a lot meaner about their sniping and go for the actual kill shots. This is more of a way to vent with each other."

"So any idea who our yearly sacrifice is going to be?" asked Viper to Blaise.

"No clue. I thought Sirius was going to come back this year?"

"Yearly sacrifice?" repeated Renato in disbelief.

"Long story short there's this one teacher who's always getting replaced at the end of the year, and it's one of the core classes to boot," said Viper. "First one got burned to death by Skull, second one got chased out because Skull disliked the damn media whore being in his presence and put a prankster's bounty on him."

"What's a prankster's bounty?" asked Renato amused. So were Sirius and Remus, curious to hear what such a term meant.

"I promised a thousand gold coins to whoever drove the man out of the castle or into taking laps around the deep end of the sanity pool and it took them six months to pull it off in total. Idiot was faking his entire resume anyway," said Skull grinning.

"So basically you baited several bored children and teens into pranking the living hell out of the guy just to get rid of him, before you ruined his career," said Renato.

"Oh it gets even better. I tricked him into signing over his bank accounts to my dear sister over here and she drained him dry. He's practically a pauper on top of being a pariah now," said Skull evilly.

Sirius shuddered.

"Dear gods, it's like watching some of the older Blacks go to town on some poor bastard," said Sirius. "Too bad I'm still on restricted therapy or I'd be able to come back as your 'yearly sacrifice' as you put it."

Sirius had _barely_ managed to survive three months as DADA teacher because he kept having flashbacks. As such the healers had made it clear he wasn't allowed to return to the school for an extended time until he had completed his therapy.

Skull suddenly had an evil, evil idea.

"Hey Blaise...what sort of score did your mum get at her Defense N.E.W.T.?"

"What are you planning?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"Well I can't imagine being a Black Widow is all that fun, and I'm _sure_ she'd love the chance to insure her son got a proper education in defensive magic..." said Skull.

"Don't you bloody well _dare_ ," snarled Blaise.

"Or I could always see if cousin Narcissa would like to take over the spot to embarrass her son..." said Skull musing.

"That is positively evil and almost certain to be hilarious," said Viper grinning.

As a Black, Narcissa would almost certainly have the right education for teaching students how to be downright _nasty_ with their spellwork.

Besides, the potential for embarrassment when it came to Draco was too good to pass up.

"I demand pictures," said Sirius.

"Well obviously, and Loki only knows that Viper will be taking blackmail photos to get back at Draco for being an idiot," said Skull.

"I've been meaning to ask... why on earth do you always swear to Loki?" asked Verde.

"Patron god. He's a trickster who's not always nice and is known for shapeshifting. Besides, he links to three things I have connections to in some form or another," said Skull immediately.

Particularly Hel... he would swear on his ancestor's ghost that the goddess was flirting with him shortly before he was shunted back into his seven-year-old body! Not that he had anything against it, but it was majorly weird.

She seemed to find the whole thing amusing, actually, since he had such an absurdly close relation to Death.

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy was many things, but a fool was not one of them. That being said, when she heard Harry _Black's_ suggestion that she apply for DADA teacher (if only to avoid being saddled with another Lockhart) she had been all for it.

Of course she found it very amusing that Harry also recommend she not tell a word of it to Draco, since it would be _hilarious_ to see her son's expression upon realizing he'd have to deal with his mother knowing _all_ the little details of his school life. She was particularly looking forward to that, on top of insuring Harry and his sister get the full Black education they had missed out on.

By this point everyone in the Black family had accepted the fact that Camellia was Harry's _sister_ and Right Hand, despite being Bellatrix's daughter.

At least she could talk to Andromeda again, without having to feel like a blood traitor to do it. When Arcturus confirmed Nymphadora was a fully fledged metamorphamagus thanks to the influx of fresh blood in the family, he had reinstated both her and Andromeda.

Andromeda's husband wasn't a Black, but he was at least tolerated to an extent now.

As Narcissa settled into her chair with a glass of good quality wine (she still giggled when she thought of the sheer amount of swearing old Arcturus had let off upon finding out his heir had once again pilfered his good liquor before disappearing for the summer) she couldn't help but wonder when the old goat would cotton on to the fact his precious "golden boy" (or "silver boy" considering his house placement) was far more cunning and devious than even the fake Lord Voldemort was.

Lucius had been so put out upon learning the truth behind his "master's" heritage and the fact he was the worst sort of wizards. No proper pure blood would follow a kinslayer who didn't even have the family magics to their name save for what little they were born with.

Harry though... he had openly admitted to killing his muggle aunt and the rings _still_ accepted him because he had been positively Slytherin about it. Then again, from the memories he shared with the family it was little wonder the family magicks had declared his vendetta against his own blood perfectly justifiable. Children were _sacred_ for a reason.

Narcissa couldn't help but like the new heir of the family. He not only took care of his own (whether they were borderline squib and born of a disgraced mother or not), but he was a naturally charismatic brat who cared little for ambition but was more cunning than most of the current stock put together with a healthy dash of the previous generation to boot.

Lucius might be slippery enough to survive magical politics, but Harry? Harry knew how to _survive_ and come out swinging at anyone who tried to cage him. Usually with the other party coming out far worse for it.

Narcissa couldn't help the smirk on her face at the number of articles which had been chipping away at Dumbledore's "saintly" image and the fact serious questions were being raised. Questions that had even his _own_ supporters wondering if he truly had the best interests of their culture and their children at heart. At this point only the die hard supporters like Molly Weasley and her ilk remained firmly on his side.

Harry was able to pull in both factions without even trying, without catering to one side or the other. It was actually a relief that his chosen career was one that meant that he wouldn't bother with politics or the minor details, while at the same time promoting the Family and almost certainly making them rich in the process.

She couldn't wait for Harry to hit his magical maturity or take the titles as Head of the family, because odds were he wouldn't give a damn about those like her playing the field so long as they didn't turn out to be an embarrassment like Bellatrix.

Somehow she had the feeling it was going to be far more satisfying with him at the helm than it would have been otherwise. Especially once he decided to quit hiding his true nature and brought that meddling old goat down from his throne and onto the ground where he bloody belonged after all the nonsense he put the dark families through.

At least Harry was sensible about when it came to 'dark' magic. He honestly did _not_ give a damn so long as he wasn't required to clean up after it and didn't sound utterly depraved.

Honestly, what idiot thought making a _horcrux_ was a good idea?


	20. Chapter 20

Arcturus was beginning to look decidedly worse for wear. His body and magic were wearing down, but for the first time since that fool Riddle started recruiting for his little group, he felt _hope_ that the Family would not only survive, but come out stronger than it had in recent decades.

Even if the heir was an annoying little bastard who refused to respect his elders and pissed him off something fierce.

Arcturus had a wide grin on his face whenever he considered Harry Black, aka Skull Nighthallow the Midnight Marauder.

The family was in good hands. The brat might act like an arrogant twat who didn't know the meaning of subtlety, but he had almost as much brains as he did balls and was a vicious little bastard who wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who threatened the Family or turn him into a puppet that they could use to control the lesser wizards of the enclave.

Arcturus passed on to the next great adventure with a wide grin on his face as he couldn't wait to see how far his heir took the family after his passing. With any luck he'd be able to see it as it happened in the afterlife.

* * *

Dumbledore was not having a good day. Upon learning of Arcturus' passing, he fully expected young Sirius to take the mantle of Family Head, as he was still the heir even after his mother threw him out of the house.

So he was very surprised when Sirius instead took the seat belonging to the _Steward_ of the Black family, rather than the head.

The fact none of the older pure blood families looked remotely surprised by this was more than a little worrying.

Augusta took one look at the confusion on Dumbledore's face before she enlightened him.

"Honestly Dumbledore, it's like you don't bother to pay attention to your students anymore. It's not like it wasn't common knowledge by last Christmas that Arcturus made young Harry his heir instead of Sirius," said Lady Longbottom.

"I see," said Albus frowning.

"I highly doubt that," said Sirius dryly. "Harry will be the family head once he passes his O.W.L.'s with high enough marks, or failing that once he turns seventeen."

"And you're alright with this?" asked Dumbledore. This was rather disquieting news, as the Blacks were notoriously a _dark_ family and it wouldn't do for the Savior to adopt some of their more unpleasant practices.

"Why would I have a problem with it? Harry might be more Black than Potter, but he's nothing like Bellatrix and her ilk," said Sirius in open confusion.

Most of the older pure blood society only needed one meeting with Harry Black (with the death of Arcturus he had legally changed his name) before they decided whether they liked him or hated him.

The dark faction either liked him or agreed to remain relatively neutral until they had a chance to explore their options if another Dark Lord showed up, or worse, if Riddle somehow managed to make a comeback. Those that were neutral towards him were semi-favorable towards him because he was willing to accept that neutrality unless circumstances changed.

The neutrals were more or less on his side, give or take a few who were ardent supporters of either Riddle's nonsense or Dumbledore's sanctimonious bullshit.

The light faction had been his main supporters and would likely remain that way until it became clear that he wasn't going to blindly follow Dumbledore's unspoken rules and behavior, and then their real loyalty would be exposed relatively quickly.

The irony was that Harry actually had more support without even leaving school than Dumbledore had managed after Grindlewald's defeat and Tom's rise to power. All without giving a single damn about politics or "polite behavior".

His genuine honesty and natural charisma was more appealing than Dumbledore's manipulations and political savvy.

As the general meeting of the Wizangamot continued, Dumbledore began to realize something he had dismissed out of hand for the past two years.

It had started out slow, barely a trickle, but now that he knew there was _something_ going on in the background he took notice.

There was an unofficial _third_ faction beginning to form, all with one person acting as the center of it all.

It took him most of the meeting before he picked up on the fact that this shadow faction seemed to lean more heavily on 'resigned patience' towards muggleborns and half-bloods, rather than the extreme intolerance or trying to adapt to new things to make the muggle-raised feel more comfortable.

Though it was pretty _obvious_ there was a third faction rising during the next meeting with the School Governors, when all sides agreed that a mandatory course that lasted three years be made that explained the full extent of magical culture to every student, whether they were pure blood or muggleborn.

Dumbledore did not like the fact he was being forced to change things in HIS school, or that several teachers would need to be replaced before the year started.

Case in point, Binns, Burbage and Trelawny. Though in light of the fact she did have a legitimate Seer's gift (heavily watered down to the point it was a miracle if she got ANYTHING), the Board agreed to allow her to stay as the Divination teacher and simply add a magical scrying class instead.

Students would have the option of picking one of the new (or reinstated in some cases) courses they were forcing Dumbledore to bring into the school within the first week. Or, in the case of some who had more time to think of their choices over the summer, drop a few courses.

If he hadn't been aware of the fact that there was a new power rising in Magical England, some of the classes he was now forced to add would have clued him in.

There were several mundane classes now considered mandatory and quite a few of the teachers recommended were _muggleborns_. A fact he never would have considered possible since Malfoy and his ilk were on the board.

Dumbledore was still quite unhappy about the fact that the entire school would be made to take an assessment test to determine if they were receiving a quality magical education until that point. Some of the teachers would be examined as well.

Snape, fortunately, had managed to find someone willing to take over the younger students, so he could focus on those who had passed their O.W.L.s and thus already had the basic knowledge of how to properly _brew_ a potion firmly under their belt. It allowed him to focus on the more competent students and nurture those who showed an aptitude for the art.

Coincidentally it also allowed him to avoid having to deal with the snot nosed children he loathed so much who preferred to mess around in his class rather than take their brewing seriously.

The number of times he had to keep the lions and the snakes from accidentally maiming each other over a misbrewed potion were ridiculous. Curiously that number seemed to drop into almost nonexistent levels over the past two years.

* * *

For the first time since coming back, Skull was actually looking _forward_ to the new school year. Losing Arcturus had hurt more than he would have guessed (the old geezer was fun to poke at and had taken on the role of a grandfather figure during the short time he had known him), but the changes Skull had managed to make in the school were finally going to be properly seen.

Camellia was just pleased that she would be able to continue her scrying lessons with the teacher that Fon's clan had introduced her to. As she had come to learn very quickly thanks to Skull's help, information was a power that should never be easily dismissed. Those who had it could use it as an almost universal bartering tool that could span both muggle, magical and mafia with ease.

Who cared about hoarding money like a dragon when those who controlled the information could make it with laughable effort?

Camellia had no idea that she was already starting to walk the path that would make her the most terrifyingly efficient Information Broker the world would see in this day and age.

Just as Renato was already starting to make a name for himself as one of the best up and coming hit men in the world, and Fon was already being recognized for his skill and diversity in martial arts.

Verde was already being known by his old nickname as the second coming of Da Vinci, though the box weapons were firmly their ace in the hole until technology caught up enough that they could be mass produced.

Skull _loved_ his Cloud bunny and didn't give a damn how 'girly' the rabbit looked. He could fly mostly under his own power and that was all he gave a damn about.

For someone who had spent the majority of his childhood the first time in one cage or another, the sort of freedom that came from being able to fly was an indescribable feeling. Especially since as long as he used With, he wouldn't risk exposing his secondary Flames and having to deal with the idiocy of the mafia about how Skies were supposed to lead their Families and all that crap.

The Arcobaleno were going to be a _family_ , not a group of mish-mashed people who only worked together out of almost professional courtesy this time or Skull would have considered this second chance a complete and utter failure.

The real test would likely be Lal Mirch, Colonello and Luce, as they were the only ones currently out of the loop that the others were already in contact with each other.

Skull had been the most pissed off about Luce's betrayal out of the group, shocking the others when he lit into the woman upon learning she had KNOWN this would happen and didn't have the decency to at least give them a head's up and refused to even go near the woman after. He only showed up to the funeral out of respect for poor Aria.

Colonello and Lal would be a toss up, but wouldn't likely be too much trouble. Lal had more or less followed the law of "majority rules" the first time and Colonello shown up the last minute anyway.

Even if one or both of them had their memories again, odds were they'd at least wait once they realized something major had changed before doing anything too stupid.

Luce though, Luce could go hang until she either got over her annoying 'fate is set in stone' bullshit or learned she wasn't the true Sky of the Arcobaleno...she just held the stupid pacifier.

"Someone's in a good mood," said Viper.

"There's going to be actual classes at the school I haven't seen before! I was so bored the last few years that I almost instigated multiple riots to keep from falling asleep!" said Skull enthusiastically.

"Ah, the downside of having future knowledge. I don't know what's worse, the part where you have to hurry up and then wait, or being bored to death if you're stuck as a child in lessons you already know," said Verde wisely.

At least around Skull his boredom was _mostly_ mitigated. And he didn't have to cater to the imbeciles from the mafia. Learning Skull could easily fund Verde's lab and several of his projects until they became profitable had been a welcome surprise.

Had he known this before he would have been much nicer to the Cloud. As it was, Skull had a live and let live policy so long as Verde used his less pleasant experiments on people who annoyed one of them.

It was rather interesting, seeing the people Viper, Fon and Reborn had been before time and circumstance had jaded them.

If any of them gained their original memories, it would be _hilarious_ to see how they reacted upon realizing exactly how wrong they had all been about Skull this whole time and never knew.

Skull happily laid his head in Camellia's lap, who merely rolled her eyes and went back to reading. The developing headache slowly dissipated as Skull napped on the train.

No one batted an eye at the scene, since it was well known among those who interacted with the now teenager that Skull was a very tactile person with those he was close to. Most generally allowed it with fond amusement, particularly Camellia.

Mainly because those that were actually close to him knew of his rough upbringing and how starved he was for _positive_ physical attention.

As Camellia had put it when asked by the other girls who had hopes Harry would look close to home for a proper Wife, her brother was a bit of a "cuddle bug". And if she took inordinate pleasure in ruining their hopes Skull would marry one of the pure blood princesses, well, that was her business.

"Didn't you already pass high school?" asked Verde.

"Well yeah, but I'm looking forward to the magical culture lessons, scrying and ancient runes. I'm already listed as the official Teacher's Assistant for Care of Magical Creatures since I do have my license, but for the most part I'm really looking forward to this," said Skull eagerly.

Certain students were allowed to "test out" of the mundane courses that the board had forced Dumbledore to add, if only so they wouldn't be the laughingstock of the magical enclaves when it came to education. It had come as a nasty surprise to some of the pure bloods learning that mundane courses were considered standard in nearly every _other_ school (including the smaller trade schools) on the list for formal magical education and a large part of why Hogwarts was ranked so low was because they lacked said subjects.

Since the most the school would be offering were high school level subjects, testing out was considered perfectly acceptable as long as the student in question actually understood the subject matter.

Hermione was definitely going to be a very happy bookworm once she realized the full extent of the courses now being offered. So were a lot of bored Ravenclaws.

Seeing the gobsmacked expression on Draco's face upon learning that his _mother_ was going to be their DADA teacher for the year (and Skull's not so subtle jab that now his mum would know _exactly_ what he got up to at school during the feast) was entirely worth it.

Especially since Narcissa pulled Skull, Viper, and the twins aside after classes had ended for the day the first week.

"You are all proud members of the House of Black... or Prewitt, in your case (she nodded to the twins). As such it is my duty and pleasure to insure you have a _proper_ grounding in the old magicks, regardless of Dumbledore's foolishness. Should your sister prove an interested party, I may extend the offer to her as well. However I will not tolerate any foolishness such as her silly crush on Harry, is that understood?" she said to the twins.

"Crystal," said George.

"We'll let her know, though it might be easier to offer a separate lesson plan so she knows the full extent of how a pure blood lady _should_ act and to what extent she's allowed to ignore it. Mum certainly never bothered to teach her the little things," said Fred.

"And we understand why Ron is excluded in these lessons... he'd be too lazy to properly learn anyway."

"And Percy is too busy learning other languages under Barty Black to make a better impression with the Ministry," laughed Skull.

"Barty Black", formerly Barty Crouch Jr., had accepted the offer to renounce his loyalty to Riddle when he was made aware of how depraved the man was. The fact they were giving him a chance to snub his father in a way that the man would never recover from and end the family discreetly had been one of the major selling points.

He had managed to get into Hogwarts as a language teacher as a way to distract Dumbledore from Harry. After all, it allowed the old fool to parade around another "reformed" Death Eater, unaware that he answered to a new Master...one who didn't need to brand his followers like cattle.

At least Snape had someone to commiserate with when he needed a drink.


	21. Chapter 21

Skull was half-asleep and almost drooling on his pillow when he felt the sharp sensation of something _wrong_ with his bond to Fon. Like someone was attempting to displace the brotherly bond with something far more restrictive and unpleasant.

And _that_ woke him up and had him ready to rage against whoever the hell was trying to hurt the friendly Storm.

"What's going on?" asked Blaise, having woken up the second he felt the wrong sensation as well. Something woke his Sky out of his sleep and pissed him off.

"I think another Sky is trying to subvert the harmony I have with Fon," said Skull pissed.

They were already heading down to the common room...and as it was close to four in the morning nearly everyone else was sound asleep. Viper was already there waiting for them.

Skull felt his pant pocket vibrate and saw Verde's less than amused face.

" _Flitwick's still up and I'm not about to explain why I'm leaving the dorm at this hour,"_ he explained briefly.

"Fair enough. I'll see if Renato is available instead," said Skull without hesitation. "Something tells me this is going to make some serious waves once we rescue Fon."

" _Agreed,"_ said Verde. He pushed up his glasses. _"However it was bound to happen eventually and this time you aren't a_ civilian."

Part of the reason the Arcobaleno had treated him like a 'child' was because he had been a complete unknown and acted more like a clueless civilian when they first meet. Lal treated him the best next to Viper, but that was mostly because she instinctively recognized a fellow soldier.

Renato was not only awake, but he was feeling very edgy from the bond he had with Skull. He knew someone was going to need healing, but had no idea what was going on until Skull called him to see if he was up.

As it was, he didn't mind being picked up by Lark. He wanted to make whoever was hurting Fon pay.

* * *

 _In an undisclosed location in Asia..._

Fon coughed up more blood. One particularly dense Triad had decided that it was perfectly acceptable to kidnap him in order to gain power among the stronger ones, despite the fact that Imperial Favor and the fact he was bonded to an unaffiliated Sky meant that the older, more established families were more than willing to treat Fon as an neutral enforcer among the clans once he was a bit stronger and had the right connections.

The fact Skull had little reason to ally himself (save for temporary ones) with the Triads didn't hurt this arrangement. Neutral parties among the Triads were so rare that they were almost as coveted as Skies so long as they maintained that neutrality.

Sure, you'd be stuck solving mostly petty arguments or acting as arbiters between the clans, but it provided a great deal more freedom for an Active Flame than most would ever get in their lifetimes.

This clan would be wiped out in short order when word spread what they had done. Whether he'd be alive to see it was up for debate at the moment though.

Seeing the massive ball of flame that came from Lark making a _very_ flashy entrance, Fon instinctively closed his eyes. It wasn't that the fire was blinding, but more that he got the feeling he really needed to keep them closed when Lark appeared like that.

A good thing too, because the next thing he heard was the sound of _scales_ slithering on the floor and screams about a snake before they suddenly died off and bodies began to hit the floor.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what Lark had managed to drop in his prison. He knew of the basilisk Skull had acquired but had only informed those closest to him about in his case. It was content to stay there since Skull let it out whenever he was in areas with limited to no human presence for it to hunt (it spent most of it's time sleeping save for prearranged times when most of the other animals were put away to avoid accidental deaths) which was a great deal more freedom than it's other "masters" had dared to give it.

So the fact Skull had been pissed enough to let it out and take out anyone stupid enough to try and take Fon hostage made the Storm rather glad he had befriended the oddball Cloud.

Then things got rather weird, as he heard Skull and a few of his Elements raging on _his_ behalf to rescue him like they had Renato. One moment he was slowly but surely freeing himself from the bindings when he felt something _slam_ into his mind like a particularly painful brick.

He almost passed out as _memories_ came hard, fast and almost painfully without any warning whatsoever. Memories of a childhood that was completely different and far lonelier than he knew. Memories of a man who had become trapped in a cage that he was unable to properly escape among the Triads. Memories of an adorable little boy who grew up to be so strong and a little girl he looked on with pride as a surrogate daughter who flourished in martial arts.

Fon almost opened his eyes, but remembered at the last second that the basilisk was still out and it would be rather embarrassing to die a _second_ time from being foolish enough to open them until he knew Skull had put it away.

And wasn't that a surreal thought, remembering your own death and being cursed for over thirty years as a toddler?

"Fon!" yelped Skull, and he heard the basilisk returning to the cave inside the case. "Hang in there. Ren, is he stable enough to move?"

Fon was having a very weird moment hearing _Reborn_ talk to Skull like an equal in a voice both younger and older than he could recall. Even as his mind supplied that it had sounded like that for as long as he could remember.

"His physical condition is stable enough, though he looks like he might be drugged by something," said Renato.

Fon felt himself lifted and placed on Skull's back, before they were sent straight to one of his safe houses protected by magic.

He was out cold the _second_ his body and mind registered that he was safe.

Somehow he had the feeling he was going to have quite the migraine over the next few days.

* * *

Fon had a migraine and it was very strange waking up in his thirteen year old body after being stuck as a toddler for over thirty years. More so was the fact that things no longer matched with what he knew, leaving him adrift with no way of anchoring himself.

As if that wasn't enough, he immediately recognized a much younger Reborn making sure he was feeling better after being out cold for the better part of four days.

Fon managed to keep his legendary calm as the Clan Elders (he had never regarded them with any fondness after they did so little to keep his sister safe from the Triad assassins) basically informed him that due to recent circumstances he was being relocated to Hogwarts and would be spending his summers with his betrothed and her family. At least until he graduated the laughable excuse for a magical education they had.

(He was still trying to come to terms with the fact there was a Feng-Huang in his _room_ when he woke up.)

Seeing Verde, Fon almost immediately migrated to him...or would have had the boy who his mind said was "Harry Potter" not latched onto him in relief.

"Thank Loki! We were worried when Ren said you still weren't awake after three days."

Fon's memories were whirling, trying to reconcile the image of Skull de Mort with Harry Potter (no, Black, his mind supplied) and failing to make a match.

Harry looked at him in the eyes before realization hit him. Fon watched bewildered as he signaled Verde and they dragged him to an abandoned classroom.

Once the door was locked and the room secured, the first thing he asked cemented that he realized exactly what was going on.

"You know you looked like an adorably 'Stormy' Kyouya when I first saw you in China," said Harry grinning.

Verde snorted in amusement.

Fon had to sit down from the headache he had.

"Easy Fon. I wasn't expecting you to suddenly get your memories back like this," said Skull gently.

"How long?" he asked.

"Since I woke up during a particularly bad night when I was seven," said Skull.

"I was about six, six and a half when I got mine," said Verde.

Fon took deep, calming breaths as he tried to reconcile his memories with what he _knew_ and what he 'remembered' from the first time around.

He could safely say his life "now" was far more pleasant and less painful than it had been the first time.

"Who's my betrothed anyway?" asked Fon. Because he didn't remember having a betrothed last time and his memories hadn't quite caught up just yet.

Skull's grin was positively evil.

"Viper, or Camellia Potter-Black as her name is now. She's starting becoming the Viper we know and love, with a few adjustments."

Fon choked.

"What?"

"Viper was my cousin before, but she's my sister now. Officially you two are engaged because I really don't want to end up Kyouya's father in the near future and because I remembered you were rather partial to her even if you had no idea what her actual gender was," said Skull.

"This is so strange," said Fon.

"Just take it one day at a time. Look at the bright side... at least this way we can fix the mistakes we made as snot nosed brats and we'll actually be a _team_ rather than people who barely tolerate each other out of professional courtesy," said Skull.

Fon could already tell the difference in his Flames. Luce had barely held them together when they were forced to work with each other.

Skull had not only brought them together, but he was making them a proper _family._ It was hard to believe that the rather brash Cloud had Sky Flames this whole time.

Though when he found himself lying down to recover from a massive migraine of having to deal with two sets of memories in Viper's lap, he found he didn't mind the change at all.

Even if he had to die in order to get a second chance, that was a small price to pay to have _this_.

* * *

Skull was acting as a total mother hen around Fon, though he wasn't cloying about it. A fact Fon appreciated greatly. After a few weeks when the memories finally went into their proper place (he was very glad for his Occulmency training... it sped things up a great deal) and getting used to rooming with some amused Hufflepuffs, Fon finally found something to anchor himself to in order to make the abrupt change much easier to handle.

Like Verde, he found himself following Skull's lead without thinking too hard about it. The fact this put him in Viper's company more often than not was a very nice bonus.

He found the minor attraction he had felt for her as adults was only increased as he got to know the girl she could have been had things been different the first time. There were still elements of the woman he had come to know over the course of several decades, but she was more open now than she had ever been as an adult or as a 'toddler'.

He was still quietly in shock that Skull apparently fit the requirements for a Feng-Huang to bond to him willingly and still get into brotherly spats without trying to leave. Or that it seemed to treat him as an odd extension of Skull to the point it used him as a perch when he was alone with Verde.

All in all, Fon was rather happy with the strange circumstances he found himself in, even if he was having some trouble adjusting to the strangeness of it all.

Verde looked at Skull with amusement. Fon was on a quiet date with Camellia and they were experimenting in Verde's "lab" in the Room of Requirement.

"You know if and when Viper gets her memories back she is going to be so annoyed with you," said Verde.

Skull mock groaned.

"Don't remind me. Let's hope Reborn doesn't remember, because he's going to be _sooo_ pissed that I was this good and never said anything about it the first time! Fon was willing to at least listen once his memories came back," said Skull.

"I never would have pegged him for having this much trouble adjusting," said Verde.

"Out of all of us, he and Reborn were the ones most set in their ways. He might hide it behind his legendary serene persona, but he always had the hardest time thinking outside the box unless it came to martial arts," said Skull snorting. "I think the _only_ reason he's handling it so well is because of the belief structure towards the Feng-Huang and the requirements needed to bond with one."

Verde hummed.

Skull did have a point. Out of the Arcobaleno Fon was heavily biased towards 'tradition' and was almost as stubborn as Reborn at times. Using that as a crutch until he found a new baseline was entirely possible and would explain his current behavior.

Once he found his center again, odds were he'd go back to the same Fon they had always known.

* * *

 _With Fon and Viper_

"So what was Skull like before this mess happened?" asked Camellia. Seeing the look Fon was giving her, she rolled her eyes. "He admitted to having memories of the future and Verde refuses to say anything since he didn't actually pay attention that much."

Fon blinked, before he thought of the best way to explain it.

"He was different. Almost tired, now that I think about it. I never really noticed it before, but there was this resigned air of someone who just wanted the weight of the world to fall off their shoulders so they could finally _rest_ about him. I always wondered why he never really argued against Renato and Colonello more or less using him as stress release even when he hadn't done anything to deserve it," admitted Fon. "He was loud and acted like a coward, but it had always seemed fake to me. We were all so caught up in our own lives that none of us noticed he was broken inside. And by the time we were cursed, none of us bothered to look at all."

"And me?" she asked. She wanted to know what the woman Skull always compared her to was like.

Fon openly winced at the question.

"You always hid your gender and charged us for the most ridiculous of reasons. You didn't trust anyone and seemed to have a grudge against the world in general. I remember attempting to court you before the curse, but that pretty much died after because you were so mad about the whole thing that you refused to even consider it," he admitted. "Quite frankly you seem much happier _now_ than I can remember you being."

Camellia was silent. Partly out of shock, but also because she needed time to process this new information.

She could so very easily remember how _alone_ she had been before Skull stumbled across her. How it felt like the entire world was against her and she had to latch onto the one thing she knew gave people power.

If Skull hadn't found her and given her a family to latch onto, it was all too easy for her to see herself growing up alone and unable to trust anyone after being betrayed so easily by her own blood. To openly demand payment, just so she had some feeling of control over her life and knowing she wouldn't be screwed over a second time.

Fon said nothing as Camellia leaned into his side, beyond grateful Skull had cared enough to actually _do_ something when he realized he had the chance to help.

She wouldn't give up her annoying brother for anything, even if she would swear he was trying to give her and Blaise gray hairs before they even hit their magical majority.


	22. Chapter 22

It took Fon a moment to realize Skull had lead him to the seventh floor for a specific reason. The room currently looked like a _proper_ dojo complete with tatami mats and the rhythmic sound of a bamboo fountain 'clacking' in the background.

"You're adjusting pretty well to things, but even I can see you need to let go before you snap," said Skull.

He slid into a basic stance. Fon blinked, before he realized what Skull was offering and did the same. He hadn't had a chance to really let loose and adjust to the fact he was in his teenage body. Just being able to figure out the extent of what he could do _now_ would be a relief and give him some measure of control over this situation.

It was with some surprise that he found Skull was a rather difficult opponent to face. He was slippery as hell and almost impossible to pin down. Fon found a strange, delighted smile crawl onto his face. He was having fun for the first time in _years_ and it felt exhilarating.

All the stress and confusion over the sudden influx of memories seemed to vanish as he started to figure out his new limits (limits which would soon be gone once he got back into his old training regimen) and just let himself fall into the pattern of attack and defend.

Fon found himself staring at the ceiling of the fake dojo as Skull used a _leg sweep_ of all things on _him_. He was panting from exhaustion and enjoying every second of it.

"Feel better?" grinned Skull.

"Much," admitted Fon. He accepted the cold juice from the Cloud and sat up a bit. To his delight it was made from mandarins.

"I'm sorry you were so confused, but I couldn't leave things the way they were. I've had so much shit thrown at me the first time that the idea of not helping you all become the people I knew you could be sounded absolutely ridiculous. Besides... I about died laughing my ass off when I found out how much Kyouya took after you," said Skull grinning at him.

Fon looked at him and chuckled openly hearing that. Kyouya never believed his mother when she said he was just like Fon as a child.

"Tell you what... how about we get together at least once or twice and week and try to beat the crap out of each other in the name of training? I never really said it before, but I always enjoyed the tai chi training you gave us whenever we had time to spare."

By this point Fon's breathing had evened out. Out of all the others, only Skull seemed to take his instructions seriously and he did recall how the other always seemed to show genuine improvement whenever they had a chance to spar.

A small, sad smile came onto his face. How did he miss this side of Skull the first time? Were they really so self-absorbed that they missed the little details in each other?

"I'd enjoy that."

"Besides, this means I finally have someone to meditate with and practice the few katas I know in the morning. Blaise hates waking up as early as I do just to do some running and Viper refuses to wake up an hour before breakfast. And you know how Verde is," said Skull.

Fon chuckled. Verde occasionally ignored things like sleep, food and bathing once he was absorbed in a project. He found them 'trivial details'.

He was pleasantly surprised to find Skull already up and stretching outside when he came down. The two of them fell into an easy rhythm and Fon found himself following Skull's lead almost instinctively...and it had nothing to do with the fact the other was a Sky. It was more like the easy camaraderie he had with the few members of his family he was actually close to.

It wouldn't be until Verde quietly said "Welcome back" that he realized he felt like he belonged in his skin again. He had felt like he was simultaneously in a body too big and too small until that moment.

* * *

"I never thought I would say this before, but I am thanking the gods I have an active betrothal contract with you," said Fon dead serious.

He had forgotten how _annoying_ puberty was, and add onto the fact he was a very attractive male who was a different 'flavor' compared to every other guy on campus save for the extremely rare few like Verde and Skull, and suddenly it felt like he was being watched by hundreds of predatory eyes waiting to eat him alive.

The only thing keeping them off his back and from doing anything more than _staring_ intently was the fact he was betrothed to Camellia Black, Steward of the Potter family and sister to the heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. Daughter of a witch that no sane person wanted to meet in a dark alley.

No one wanted to piss off Camellia and find out the hard way exactly how much she took after her mother. Bellatrix had made a terrifying impression during the last war.

So for now he was safe, and quite frankly the only _female_ he was even remotely attracted to in this annoying school was Viper.

Even if he found Skull's reasoning for making the contract with his clan more than slightly hilarious.

"Hmph. As if I'd let some pretentious pure blood princess take what's _mine_. It's annoying enough they actually think I'd let them near my brother as a potential match," said Camellia possessively.

Fon idly wondered how Viper would react if she suddenly got her memories back and found out she was acting positively possessive of Fon and Skull of all people.

He had to hide a grin.

She would be mortified beyond belief before attempting to charge them for some nonexistent reason to cover up her embarrassment. And then they could blackmail her just for fun.

"Why are you smiling?" demanded Camellia, eyes narrowing on him.

"Nothing," he replied smoothly. Unseen by the Mist, Fon was wrote something quickly in Chinese script before deftly lobbing it at Skull's head. The Cloud discreetly opened it up...before cackling.

Camellia gave him a suspicious look.

"Do you want me to leave you to the nonexistent mercies of the prepubescent and teenage girls in this school?" she asked, raising a single eyebrow.

Fon openly flinched.

"No ma'am," he said quickly.

"Oh good, you can be trained," snarked Camellia.

Fon gave her an odd look before he registered exactly what was going on with her chi and realized why she was rather cranky. He promptly pulled out a chocolate frog with caramel filling.

He also tossed another parchment ball at Skull, who laughed so hard he started pounding on the table.

Camellia gave him a suspicious look, but accepted the sacrificial chocolaty treat...before proceeding to stomp on Fon's foot. He accepted the 'punishment' with all due grace. This was seriously too amusing not to continue.

 _With Skull_

"Wait... he can tell when Camellia is... lucky bastard," said Blaise in appreciation.

"Which means he'll never be without his sacrificial frogs to appease the werewolf known as my sister," said Skull cracking up.

"So we're going to have the entertainment of seeing Fon court Camellia and tease them about their love life?" asked Blaise eagerly.

"Yup," said Skull, popping the 'p' sound.

"A pity Renato is a muggle. Having him around would be hilarious, because he'd have all the girls eating out of his hands within a month," said Blaise.

"Just imagine the fun to be had as Fon tries to deal with my antics when he's used to the 'old' me," cackled Skull.

Verde had taken a full two months before he gave up trying to make sense of why Skull had gone from cowardly and whiny to acting like a hyper child hopped up on caffeine, sugar and energy drinks that lived to cause chaos that would make even Reborn look askance at him.

Instead he resorted to the same method Blaise and Viper had. He would slap Skull across the head when he got annoying until he shut up or went to bother someone else.

* * *

 _A few days later, in Hogsmeade..._

"...Does he normally act this hyper?" asked Fon, eyebrow twitching.

"I asked him why and he said that if he's going to play the brash idiotic misplaced Gryffindor, then he's going to have fun with it. Apparently his image of a Gryffindor involves acting like someone nuttier than a squirrel," said Camellia flatly.

Fon immediately thought of Luce's animal companion Cosmo, then hid a laugh at how offended said creature would be at the comparison.

"That being said, we have a standard response for when he gets too annoying," she continued.

"And that is?"

Camellia's hand lashed out, grabbed Skull's collar and she proceeded to slap him on the back of the head hard enough to make an impact. He whined, but settled down.

"Meanie."

"Please tell me you can wear him out so he's less annoying to deal with during daylight hours," begged Camellia. "We don't care if you train him into the ground or simply play tag until he runs out of energy... he's becoming increasingly erratic of late and it's driving us up the wall."

"I think we can arrange something," said Fon, looking openly amused beyond belief at this point.

Strap on a few heavy weights to increase Skull's stamina and his own and it wouldn't take much for him to reclaim the title "fastest in Asia" again.

"I'm suddenly sensing a lot less headaches for Blaise, Verde and myself and many more for McGonagall and Dumbledore in our future," said Camellia openly smirking.

"I may or may not have a way to wear him out that will only benefit him later," agreed Fon.

Besides, they were stuck in this out of the way school with very little in the way of entertainment, and he did enjoy the occasional parkour. If nothing else he got to watch the older members of the staff have coronaries trying to stop their game of tag.

* * *

Blaise heard a commotion outside the hall, followed by a cackling Skull and a slightly out of breath Fon.

"I thought he was supposed to be the serious one?" he asked Verde.

"He mentioned something about taking full advantage of a second childhood in the name of training and trolling. Just don't get in their way and you should be fine, and this way we have someone to wear the idiot down," replied the lightning. "On an unrelated note, Skull told us to direct any of the original professors demanding to know where they are in the wrong direction, since they're technically 'playing' tag as well."

Blaise smirked.

"That sounds hilarious and somewhat fun," he commented.

"Why do you think I agreed to do it in the first place," said Verde smirking.

McGonagall arrived with a twitching eyebrow. Unseen the newer teachers (and Snape) were watching the entire thing with amusement.

Skull had pointed out it wasn't against school rules to play 'tag' so long as brooms were not involved, no one was harmed, and they weren't disrupting classes.

As they only 'played' after the last class had ended and were in their dorms by curfew, there was quite literally nothing McGonagall or the other teachers could do so long as they were never caught. And the two were always in other parts of the castle by the time the teachers who actually cared were in the places they had long since left.

Most of the teachers learned to ignore the game, save for McGonagall and Dumbledore. The old man was very confused as to why the school wards ignored his demands to stop the two.

Then again he had no idea Skull had the Slytherin heir ring around his neck (he had started to wear the Black heir ring properly since the news had finally reached the old goat). With the heir ring the school wards registered _him_ as partial owner, and thus he could negate any orders the headmaster made so long as it didn't endanger the students.

That and Hogwarts liked Skull far more than it did Dumbledore with how big a mess he had made of the place. It was a semi-sentient castle after all.

Blaise was openly amused as several students gave conflicting directions as to where Skull and Fon were. Partly because it drove the old cat and old goat up the wall trying to catch them, but also because it wasn't just Blaise, Camellia or Verde who were tired of Skull's almost perpetual hyper energy.

When he was hyper, he generally got bored quickly. When he was bored, he created chaos. When he created chaos he almost always dragged the Weasley Twins into it, thus making everyone's days a little more 'interesting'.

If Fon was capable of wearing Skull down so he didn't create mass havoc in the name of boredom, then by magic every student would act as their enablers to driving the two former Gryffindors crazy trying to catch them.

Their sanity depended on it.


	23. Chapter 23

Fon was worried, and even Verde was showing open concern. And if the mad scientist of a Lightning was picking up that something was wrong with Skull, then there was definitely something off.

It wasn't until he was much closer to the Cloud that he realized what was going on.

Skull was desperately trying not to sleep, and it was starting to affect him.

Fon came up with a simple, if effective plan to find out what was going on. Out of all the Arcobaleno, Skull had always been the best at hiding his real self from others.

The martial artist distinctly remembered one painful morning when he walked in on Skull attempting to bandage what were clearly broken ribs unsuccessfully. He had kept protesting he was fine right up until Fon had literally carried him and dumped him on the floor in front of Reborn before making sure the arrogant hit man knew of his condition. Considering Skull had trouble breathing until that point, there was no way he could keep hiding how much pain he was in with any real success.

Reborn had humored Fon, with everyone watching impassively the entire time thinking Fon was overreacting...right up until Skull abruptly passed out when even a fraction of the pain was alleviated from his body. The flat, shocked look on Reborn's face had said volumes as they quickly divested the stubborn Cloud of his usual outfit...only to stare in horrified silence at the sheer number of scar tissue all over his body.

The broken ribs were the _least_ of the damage on Skull.

Fon hid a frown. Reborn had spent the better part of a week and they had put Skull in a medically induced coma. It had taken Verde a full day to figure out what exactly Skull had in his blood that ate up the drugs that kept him out cold. Viper nearly had an apoplectic fit finding out he had enough basilisk venom in his blood to kill fifty grown men, as well as just enough phoenix tears to keep him alive.

None of the Arcobaleno dared to call Skull _weak_ ever again after realizing the extent of his will to live. A lesser man would have curled up and died long ago, but Skull had survived and came out swinging out of pure stubborn will.

Reborn had been far gentler when 'disciplining' the so-called Lackey of the group, and not even Colonello gave Skull as much flack after that day.

Which was why Fon loaded himself up with as much high-proof alcohol as he could get his hands on, waited for their weekly sparring session over the weekend and after quickly putting Skull to the ground three times (the minimum requirement they had agreed on for the session to end) produced the booze.

Skull took one look at it and laughed bitterly.

"I was that obvious, huh?"

"You forget, we saw the scars left behind a long time ago," said Fon calmly. There was no judgment, no sympathy, and most of all zero lack of pity.

Skull took the bottle being offered, before downing most of it in short order. It took three more before he started talking, and once he began he couldn't stop.

Fon was a quiet observer, letting Skull vent whatever it was that had been bothering him to the point of nightmares and a distinct desire not to sleep just to escape them.

Of course the memories of what happened the first time would catch up to him at the worst possible moment. Fon should have guessed Skull had been holding back the memories of the war and the hell he went through as "Harry Potter" for so long that it started to rebel.

The fool was far too good at suppressing his Cloud instincts to the point they snapped violently when pushed too far.

Fon let his friend (and soon to be brother) get it all out, rubbing his back and letting the Cloud lean on him.

It was times like these he wished Viper had been the one to regain her memories of the Future that Wasn't, not him. She had always been the closest to Skull, especially after that one month when she had helped him with something in England only to come out visibly shaken by the end of it.

Knowing what he did now, it was clear that Skull had brought her back into the family without being asked, and only told her that after the fact.

When Skull finally passed out from relief and because of the alcohol he had consumed, Fon waited until he was sure the Cloud was firmly out cold before sighing. Inwardly he was cursing the name Albus Dumbledore vehemently enough to make even _Xanxus_ blush from the sheer amount of swearing he was doing.

"I suppose it's a good thing your PTSD only really hit home when you had an actual support base to get you through it," said Fon, running his hand through Skull's hair.

Skull curled into the gentle touch, instinctively registering Fon as one of his Elements and a friend.

"Is it safe to come in here yet?" asked Camellia, before registering the number of high-proof bottles around Skull. "What happened?"

Fon noticed Verde was right behind her, as was the rather amusing Luna Lovegood. She had more or less attached herself to Verde for reasons known only to her, not that he noticed at this point. By now he considered her one of his more amusing lab assistants and barely registered the fact she was in his personal space.

"His PTSD was acting up, and he forgot he has an actual support base to lean on now," said Fon simply.

"His what?" said Camellia.

"Ah. That would explain his erratic behavior, especially considering the fact we _know_ he has a bad habit of bottling up when he's in pain or needs help," said Verde, pushing up his glasses.

"What's PTSD?" asked Camellia.

"PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A lot of soldiers or warriors coming off active battlefields get it and that makes it much harder to readjust to civilian life," explained Fon.

"The old terms for it are shell shock or battle fatigue syndrome. Essentially he is trapped in the memories of the war he was caught in because of Dumbledore and his foolishness, and he keeps forgetting he has people around him that can help him get through the trauma of the war," said Verde.

"...And getting him black out drunk helps?" said Camellia dubiously.

"In most cases no, but Skull's problem is that he has a bad habit of bottling up his pain and asking for help when he needs it until it explodes. The trick was to get him to start talking about it, by which point it will naturally come out as a torrent," said Fon. He frowned in annoyance. "This wouldn't have been an issue if the idiots in England had bothered to listen and realize the damage they were doing, caging a Cloud in to the point he no longer tries to fight back against it."

Fon barely registered the fact Camellia easily moved her brother to her lap. Most men might had felt jealous the way she was looking at the other teen, but Fon had long since moved past such petty jealousies.

Besides, he knew perfectly well Skull preferred to treat Viper as his sister than anything romantic. Odds were he wouldn't know how to react if someone had genuine romantic feelings towards him that weren't motivated by greed or other factors. Seeing the Cloud cuddle with his sister, Fon smiled and got a blanket.

Skull looked so vulnerable and innocent, sleeping like that. All the manic energy he had been displaying completely bled away, revealing the child he was never allowed to be underneath.

He was one of the strongest people Fon had ever had the pleasure of meeting...and one of the weakest. A puppy who had been kicked around so much that he had come to accept it as part and parcel of his life and how others would treat him, and was openly suspicious of those who wanted to care for him without having some ulterior motive.

And yet once you had his loyalty, it was for life. He had moved heaven and earth to protect his Elements, despite the fact it was _their_ job to protect him.

"So what do we tell the 'teachers'?" asked Verde with a sneer.

"Tell them Sirius had to borrow Harry for the weekend for Family Business," said Camellia immediately. "Once we explain the situation he'll likely agree to the cover story, we just need to remove him from the school via an approved Floo connection. It's one of the few things Dumbledore can't interfere with, as he is not Harry's legal guardian or a Black."

"Take him to Japan for the weekend. He's always had a fondness for the culture," suggested Fon.

"You do realize you'll be coming with us. It would look odd if you didn't," said Camellia..

"Of course. Besides you'd need a proper translator."

* * *

Skull woke up in a very familiar country. Once he registered he wasn't in Hogwarts, a wide grin came across his face.

" _Awesome! How did you pull this off?"_ he asked Fon in Japanese.

" _Viper suggested we get you out of the country before you snapped, and Sirius was all too willing to cite 'Family Business' to get you away from the castle for most of the weekend. Naturally as her betrothed it was acceptable for me to accompany you,"_ said Fon in the same language.

" _I still can't believe you got sorted into the Hufflepuffs. No wait, I can. It was either that or Ravenclaw,"_ said Skull grinning.

Fon chuckled. Some Slytherins would be appalled to be betrothed to a "Hufflepuff". Camellia didn't care, because she knew the reason why he had been sorted there. Besides, he was _hers_ and no one else.

"So you were getting stir crazy in the castle?" said Sirius in English.

Skull looked at Fon.

" _I was unsure if you told him the full story, so I just gave him the bare minimum of information. He is now aware that your 'soul fire' is predisposed to drifting and dislikes being cooped up in a cage, even if it's supposedly done for 'your own good',"_ explained Fon in Chinese. Skull gave him a discreet thumbs up in thanks.

"Yeah, it was driving me crazy especially since now everyone _knows_ I'm the next head of the family. Dumbledore has been particularly annoying, like he's trying to figure out if I'm turning into the next Riddle or if the Horcrux that was in my scar is trying to take over," said Skull rolling his eyes. "Like hell am I going to tell him that soul fire was able to purge that damn fragment when I was seven... the last thing we need is for him to dabble in soul magic when he's anal enough about naturally aligned 'dark' magic."

Sirius snorted in agreement at that.

"Well Pup, you have an entire weekend to kill in Japan of all places. What's your first move?"

"Sirius, I am going to introduce you to your new favorite place," said Skull in a flat voice, but with gleaming eyes.

Sirius looked intrigued.

Then his jaw dropped and he stared at his godson with open approval.

"Best. Godson. Ever."

Skull looked openly amused as he introduced his godfather and uncle to the wonder of Maid cafes and their outfits. Sirius was in love with the idea from the start, and was already plotting to start one in Hogsmeade, just for the sheer novelty of it.

And this was before Skull introduced him to the series _"Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon",_ even if Sirius had to get a translation spell in order to read it.

However it was what Skull found during their impromptu trip that really helped his nightmares.

Seeing the familiar octopus in the Takoyaki stand, Fon smiled as Skull promptly bounded up and offered to buy the creature from the grumpy owner.

Skull happily cuddled with his beloved friend Oodako, who seemed pretty determined to sit on his head for some reason and was looking at him with open confusion, if he was reading the cephalopod's expression right.

"I am happy for you, finding your partner twice," said Fon.

"I can't believe how much I missed Oodako," said Skull grinning from ear to ear. He was much smaller than Skull remembered, but the bond had clicked into place just as quickly as it had with Hedwig. And this time Oodako would have a proper bath to rest in, instead of that cramped tank that was expanded by magic!

* * *

 _Back in Hogwarts..._

"How is it that you leave for a few days and come back with the giant squid's baby cousin?" asked Blaise, eyebrow twitching.

"Don't diss the octopus!" said Skull laughing like a loon. "Besides, I have plans for Oodako and the twins."

He was going to have great fun sneaking up on Fred and George and dumping an armful of squirming octopus on them.

"I give up. How are you going to explain that thing to Snape, much less McGonagall?"

"Familiar bond," said Skull immediately. "That and I have a proper travel case for him."

Blaise stared at him, before poking at the creature with his magic and blinking twice.

"I am not going to ask why in Merlin's name you bonded with _that_ , but I will enjoy seeing how you plan to explain this to your owl."

"Already did. Hedwig gave me an affectionate slap with her wing before going into a rather weird conversation with her kouhai," said Skull proudly.

"Kouhai?" repeated Blaise.

"It means 'underclassman', but can also be used for a junior. A good example would be to call the first and second years our 'kouhai', and the fourth through seventh years our 'sempai'," explained Skull cheerfully.

"You are the weirdest person I have ever met," said Blaise flatly. "At least I can safely claim I will never be bored though."

"That's the spirit! Want to watch the twins scream bloody murder when I dump Oodako on their heads and they realize what's going on?"

"Gods, yes," said Blaise eagerly.

"I have the camera Verde specially reinforced to handle magically dense areas!" chirped Camellia amused.

An hour later, Fred and George were giving Skull dirty looks while watching the cephalopod in his arms warily...all while trying to get their breath back after screaming their heads off when they suddenly had to deal with something wet, slimy and squirming being dropped on them without any warning.

Skull was too busy howling his ass off with Blaise not far behind. Camellia was trying hard to hold the camera straight from her snickering.

Suddenly they knew _exactly_ how Ron felt that year they turned his bear into a massive spider as a kid. They'd never look at the squid the same ever again.

"That was a dirty, underhanded prank," said George.

"Well played," said Fred, eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Now imagine how Percy will react, especially when he realizes his spells are all bouncing off and hitting everyone else in the vicinity."

"Can we watch?" asked Fred eagerly.

"Of course!" said Skull grinning.


	24. Chapter 24

Albus Dumbledore was puzzled. So many changes were happening and Harry Potter... no, _Black_ , he had to keep reminding himself... was at the center of it.

The boy had a charisma that was impossible to ignore. Much like Tom when he found his footing, he had managed to collect a small group of trusted individuals that by all rights would have very little to do with each other.

Every time he looked at the boy, he kept seeing the child Tom Riddle had been before he took to using the dark arts.

That charismatic personality that seemed to draw everyone in, making them pliable to his venomous words and lies.

Dumbledore sighed.

How was he supposed to lead these poor children to the Light when his control over them was slipping with each passing year? It was for the Greater Good that he lead them away from the temptation of dark magic.

The damage done to his reputation was having a massive ripple effect throughout the magical society. He was no longer considered a paragon of Light and all that was Good.

In fact several witches and wizards who had opposed him were beginning to speak up once more against him. Their voices were far louder and reached more ears than ever before, as the shadowy third group that had begun to rise in power began to gather them in greater force, making it harder to ignore them.

The thing he simply could not wrap his head around was who the leader of this third faction was and how they were able to make the likes of Lucius Malfoy work together with Augusta Longbottom without spells being cast on either side. Considering what his sister-in-law did to Lady Longbottom's son and daughter-in-law, the two shouldn't have been able to join forces so easily.

And yet they were holding civil conversations and working together without any sniping comments or veiled barbs from either party.

Someone was moving the pure bloods from the shadows, gathering the muggleborns cast out by the older families and somehow getting them all to work together for a common goal.

And he had no idea what that goal was, which was the most troubling thing of all.

Dumbledore looked at the devices monitoring young Harry. Most of them had gone silent rather abruptly over the past few years, and others were beginning to fizzle out as well. He genuinely feared for young Harry, as it seemed far too much like the shard of Riddle in his scar was slowly but surely taking over.

* * *

"Ugh. Another school year over with, and this time I can't go gallivanting around the world looking up rare and unusual creatures! I hate politics!" said Skull.

"Suck it up, princess," said Blaise. "It's your own damn fault for managing to gather the old families to deal with Dumbledore's incompetence once and for all without making the entire magical society collapse."

Skull flipped him the bird. Fon chuckled.

"Look at the bright side... at least you won't be alone in dealing with the soon-to-be former Death Eaters," said Camellia, turning another page in the mundane newspaper in her hands.

"True. Why does it not surprise me that when it was spelled out to them exactly how much Riddle screwed them over and that there was someone willing to give them a proper second chance within reason that they jumped ship so easily?" chuckled Skull darkly.

After the number of revelations he had dumped on the pure bloods as the "Midnight Marauder" spelling out exactly how badly Riddle had failed to keep up his so-called 'end goal' and exactly how far the English magical enclave had fallen compared to the rest of the world, even the most hardened Death Eater had been willing to listen to him.

And that was before his status as Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Black was fully recognized.

While they wouldn't listen to "Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived and Golden Boy", they can and would listen to "Harry Black, true Slytherin and crazy bastard".

And no, Skull wasn't that upset about the fact Blaise had that particular "title" spread around to the point everyone had long since discarded the fairy tales of Harry Potter in the dust. One month of his antics had the wonderful side effect of making most people realize that the so-called "books" about his adventures before his return to the magical society were just that. Fairy tales and pure fiction.

Still, the fact was that this summer was going to be very different from the previous ones.

He was going to have to deal with, ugh... politics.

At least he got to sleep in his own bed before he had to jump headfirst into that nonsense.

* * *

 _Three days later..._

Augusta Longbottom was many things, but a fool was not one of them. When her grandson came home with tales of an oddball Slytherin who was actually nice to others and didn't treat muggleborns as trash, she had been skeptical. Then she began to hear more rumors from multiple sources all confirming the same thing.

Harry Black (he clearly took after his Black heritage more than the Potter, and should be addressed accordingly) was nothing like the current mold of a "proper" Slytherin. If anything he was more like the Black family _before_ Dumbledore was elected Headmaster, when the name was feared and respected as a force to be reckoned with.

All without an iota of training from the older Blacks or any in pure blood etiquette. The boy made waves that overturned decades of stagnancy and she was quite curious to see what his endgame was.

It was close to the time when Heir Black would be arriving with his envoy.

Neville was both nervous and excited, if for no other reason than the fact Harry seemed to have taken him under his wing without once being condescending or treating him as inferior.

"Yo, Neville! How's your summer so far? I found some interesting seeds in my special suitcase that managed to hide from me," said Harry cheerfully.

Neville perked up at that.

"It's been fine, Heir Black," said Neville, mindful of his grandmother's gaze.

Harry grinned and wrapped his arm around Neville's shoulder.

"Bah, who needs stuffy formalities? After all, we were supposed to be raised together if that disgrace to the family hadn't gone after your mum and dad. Speaking of which, I've been asking around to see if any of the other enclaves might have a way to bring them back, or at least see if it would be better to put their shells out of their misery," said Harry gently.

Neville blinked at that.

"You know about..."

"I may or may not have used Bellatrix as an example of how vicious I was prepared to be if the Slytherins annoyed me too much. Naturally I looked into her behavior before ol' Arcturus kicked her out of the family once and for all and I wasn't happy learning what they did," said Harry dead serious. "You're still family, and that means you don't have to use formalities around me. Only people who get on my nerves have to use those stuffy titles when addressing me."

Neville relaxed around Harry.

"I see you are well acquainted with my grandson, Heir Black," said Augusta.

Harry straightened up, though the devil-may-care attitude remained.

"Lady Longbottom, on behalf of the Black family we apologize for the attack on your son and daughter-in-law. We are making great effort to rectify what has been done to them so that they may be returned to you, and under no circumstances will Bellatrix Lestrange ne Black ever be allowed back into the family," he said formally, with a polite bow.

"You believe it is possible to return my son and his wife?"

"Magical England is very stagnant when it comes to multiple things, among them healing the mind. However soul fire is well documented and studied in Italy, and among those is the ability to delve deep into the mind without being affected by Occulmency barriers. With any luck, we may be able to bring them back...though I would recommend that your son and his wife never reenter the Auror force. It may trigger a flashback and that would only do more harm than good," said Harry dead serious. "I would recommend my sister, however I am well aware of the fact that her parent's hand in their condition might be a major point of contention."

Augusta found herself liking Harry Black. She could see how her grandson could have fallen so easily under his banner.

"There is one thing I am curious about, Madam. Neville does very well in the written work, but his practical is far below what his actual skill level suggests. Is there a reason he is using an ill-fitted wand?"

"It belonged to his father. He would be proud to know his son carried it," said Augusta blinking after a moment.

"Madame, I am repeatedly reminded by the older professors how much I take after my parents, but not once have I ever fallen into the trap of trying to _be_ them. And I distinctly remember Ollivander telling me that it is the 'wand that chooses the wizard', not the other way around. While I admire your attempts to honor your son's memory at Neville's age, I believe you are hindering your _grandson's_ natural talent by trying to put him into a mold that simply does not fit who is really is," said Harry calmly, and with as much respect as he could put into his words. "Neville is far and above everyone else in our grade-level when it comes to herbology, which makes me suspect he is a natural green mage. Not exactly someone who would do well as an auror."

Neville blushed with embarrassment, but was glad _someone_ was saying this.

Augusta looked at her grandson with renewed eyes, and realized the truth of it. She sighed.

"I see I have made a grievous error when it comes to your upbringing. I apologize, grandson," she said tiredly. She kept trying to force Neville to be Frank and in doing so was causing her grandson no end of heartache trying and failing to live up to those expectations.

Neville stared at Harry in amazement.

"Now, as for the real reason I'm here," said Harry, changing the subject with all the tact of a Gryffindor.

Augusta didn't let it fool her for a moment. The boy wore the Gryffindor persona like a perfect mask, but under it was a core of pure Slytherin cunning.

As they went into the drawing room, where several of the "Light" families were waiting, Harry displayed an unusual amount of noble tact when introducing himself.

Any fool could see he had no taste for it.

"Enough! Why should we listen to the blathering of a child who hasn't even completed his O.W.L.s?" demanded Eobard Thorne.

Harry pinned him with the look one might receive at the other end of a particularly venomous snake...or perhaps a shark.

"Because the adults in this room have been unable to set aside old grudges and grievances to actually stand up to that senile old goat and get people to wake up and realize the damage Dumbledore has been doing. And those who have noticed are not palatable for the darker families," said Harry flatly.

Something in his tone made everyone sit up straight and take his words seriously. There was a charisma and power behind it that got their attention and held it with effortless ease.

Had any of them been in the darker side of Italy, they would have recognized it as "Sky Charisma".

"The simple fact of the matter is that none of you are capable of making the dark families work with you without being forced to make several concessions that no one would like down the road. I for one would like to insure that if Riddle makes a come back, that your children and heirs are not forced on the frontlines because the _adults_ were too damn cowardly to stand up to a pair of tyrants!" snapped Harry.

Augusta froze at that.

"What do you mean, _if_ Riddle comes back?"

"Tom Riddle, or 'Lord Voldemort' has destroyed the sanctity of his very soul and used one of the foulest rituals in existence to create soul fragments, more commonly called 'horcruxes'. Dumbledore does not wish for this information to spread, foolishly believing that keeping you all in the dark will insure that the knowledge of their existence would fall by the wayside. I will no go into detail as to their creation, however the goblins have confirmed that Riddle has made more than one of these foul things. With the right necromancy ritual he could regain a false body and call the fools who still believe his nonsense to him again," said Harry flatly.

Dead silence.

"This is ill news indeed," said Amelia Bones, face pale at the mere thought.

"I will not lie, the very fact he has made more than one sickens me. However unlike Dumbledore I have no interest in keeping potential allies in the dark as to the danger we are all facing. There is also the fact that unlike Dumbledore I have absolutely no interest in delving into politics or trying to tell people what to think or how to behave. Thanks to him our society is considered the laughingstock of almost every other enclave out there because we look like mindless sheep following a very delusional Sheppard, all while the wolves are slowly picking off those who could lead us out of the mire we have fallen into."

"You seem to have a plan in place already, Heir Black," said Madame Bones.

"It's less a plan and more of an idea of what _not_ to do. Right now I am trying to wake up the enclaves to the fact that if things continue we are going to self destruct sooner rather than later, leaving a mere shadow of our once great culture and heritage behind. If I can insure that another Dark Lord won't rise from the idiocy of Dumbledore, I will have considered my life to be a success. At the very least you all really need to rethink marrying so close to home...it's doing far more harm than good, having so many families interconnected like this."

"Preposterous!" said one foolish wizard.

Harry leveled an unimpressed look at his outburst.

"The non magicals have long since discovered certain facts about the human body. They call it 'DNA', or deoxyribonucleic acid and it is present within every living thing including plants. In fact it was though the study of plants that this particular piece of knowledge was discovered. Mundane law enforcement uses 'DNA evidence' as a very effective way of finding or ruling out suspects in crimes," said Harry flatly.

"Is this true?" asked Bones with interest.

"Madame Bones, there is an entire field of study dedicated to criminal forensics involving DNA analysis. Any of your mundane counterparts could easy give you a general idea of what it entails and why it is such an effective tool at capturing criminals. I am loathe to say this, but your investigative ability seems to have stopped around the same time 'Jack the Ripper' was active. I would honestly be shocked if your mundane counterparts weren't already aware of the magical society and have several crimes pinned on some of the more hard core Death Eaters," said Harry absolutely flat. "In fact I bet some of your half-blood aurors from mundane backgrounds could give you more details about how mundanes solve crimes and how much more effective they are at it. Need I remind you of the bungle caused when people just assumed Sirius Black was guilty, but never properly examined the evidence to prove it?"

"What exactly is your point, Heir Black?" asked Augusta.

"My point is that mundanes have discovered marrying too closely to the same family line _damages_ the body. There's a very good reason squib births among magical families have been on the rise, and it has nothing to do with their magical ability. Humans are not meant to share so many common ancestors and it is damaging their cores. If you want the number of magical children from purely magical families to rise, then I would heavily recommend marrying outside the stock currently available in the UK. We have gone from a decently sized lake when it comes to our bloodlines to a rapidly dwindling pond that is draining fast. And let's face it, our society is in dire need of some fresh bloodlines to refresh what's currently available. I'm not saying you should start marrying the new bloods, even though many of them are descended from squib stock. However it wouldn't be remiss to cast your nets farther afield when it comes to potential partners for your children. Case in point, my cousin Andromeda married a new blood husband and her daughter is a metamorphamagus...the first in many generations."

One thing was for certain... quite a few of the "light" oriented pure bloods came out of that meeting with a genuine respect for Heir Black.

He was nothing like the 'child' that Dumbledore's propaganda had been trying to build up, nor was he as unhinged as the majority of the last generation of Blacks.

He had the charisma that cropped up regularly in the Potter family tempered by the cool cunning of the Black family. And he was no one's pawn.


	25. Chapter 25

Harry dropped the casual attitude of his friendly persona. Dealing with the Light faction had been a total headache and a half, and they were supposed to be the reasonable ones!

Right now he needed every bit of his Slytherin cunning to get the people who Voldemort recruited the most from to take him seriously. It had been a relief when he realized he had won over most of the Light faction that didn't automatically side with Dumbledore.

Where Harry Black had been was now the Immortal Skull-sama, future Cloud Arcobaleno.

And he was about to lay down the law with these fools.

In the darkness, pretty words meant little, but power... power spoke volumes. They would not respect him for his limited ability to speak with Slytherin cunning... they had been raised and trained in it from birth.

No, today he needed to wear the power that had made him feared on the battlefield against the same people he was going to be in a room with like a cloak and _make_ them listen. But he couldn't brow beat them with it... he needed to display the subtle cunning that came naturally due to his upbringing.

"Am I the only one terrified of what he's about to pull off?" asked Blaise, adjusting his outfit. He would be attending as Harry's...no, this was definitely _Skull_ now... Left hand. Just as Camellia was dressed and ready to act as his Right, with Fon acting the silent enforcer. He was firmly in the same mindset that made him so deadly and effective among the Triads before being shunted back to his younger body.

"Are we ready?" asked Skull.

This wasn't the quiet, well spoken "Heir Black" that had dealt with the Light faction. This was the fucking Man-Who-Conquered. A man who went up against Voldemort and _won_. Who had been across countless battlefields before he had enough...and was promptly tapped by Checkerface as the Cloud Arcobaleno less than a month after he left.

There were no words, as they all calmly waited for Dobby to take them to Malfoy Manor.

Skull gazed at the 'former' Death Eaters dispassionately. They all thought he was Dumbledore's pawn and most generally didn't believe the rumors their heirs told them about Harry Black.

Time to show them who was in control here.

His smile was all teeth and made Narcissa flinch at the sight of it. She clearly knew what was about to happen and was just hoping to avoid being caught in the blast radius.

Camellia discreetly signaled her aunt to hide behind them...under the guise of girl talk of course. Narcissa took the hint without hesitation.

Skull allowed the fools to dig themselves into a nice deep grave. Every snide comment about how he was little more than a child and one of Dumbledore's pawns just reminded him exactly why he was doing this.

So when the talk began to die down, his smirk widened. Fon was strongly reminded of Reborn when he was being a major asshole and was going to thoroughly enjoy trolling some fool who had pissed him off to the point they went insane or did most of the work for him.

He settled in to enjoy the show.

And he wasn't disappointed.

Skull's eyes glowed a terrifying amethyst ringed with amber as he slowly, but clearly pressed them all with his Flames.

The sneers and snide comments died off first. That was followed by a cold sweat on the brow of many who had come to Riddle's call. It didn't take much to make it hard to breathe for the weaker-willed Wizards.

"Let's get one thing perfectly straight. I didn't come here to placate a bunch of grown men and women into thinking I could change the way things have been for centuries or that I could usurp Dumbledore at his own game. I'm certainly not going to cater to people who were so weak that they failed to do a basic _background check_ on a man they so eagerly enslaved themselves to, despite his false promises of a glorious future. I'm here to show you exactly what will happen if you piss me off or are foolish enough to join up a second time with a kinslayer," said Skull casually.

His Flames were pressing down on them painfully, but making it damn clear who was the stronger one there. He wore his aura like a cloak, despite his purple hair and oddly-colored eyes. This wasn't some arrogant child trying to make himself look like an adult.

This was a _Lord_ , and he was not playing around in the least.

"What do you want from us?" demanded MacNair.

"I am not one of Dumbledore's blind pawns. And I certainly don't respect a man who was so desperate for power that he betrayed his own kin and perverted his very soul and his magic to obtain a false immortality. All I demand is that if and when Voldemort returns that you have the sense to avoid his call. I would rather not force your children to fight in another one of these ridiculous spats between Dumbledore and Riddle as the front line fighters. Our society has lost enough children and families as it is because of those idiots."

Lucius spoke up then.

"Heir Black is correct. I, for one, do not want to risk my son and heir should the Dark Lord return. Dumbledore has all but gutted out society trying to cater to these...new bloods... and the Dark Lord has never actually shown any sign that he intends to keep any of what he promised us," said Lucius.

"You would side with this half-breed filth?" sneered MacNair.

"A half-blood that has been steadily gutting Dumbledore's support from under him with facts people have conveniently forgotten about. A half-blood that managed to convince Arcturus _Black_ that he was a far superior heir, instead of Walburga's oldest son. A half-blood who is more interested in _protecting our children_ than ruling us as Dumbledore has for decades," countered Lucius without hesitation.

"A half-blood that has successfully claimed the title as Heir to the Ancient and Noble house of Slytherin on top of the titles I would have gained by bloodline alone," said Skull flatly.

Every eye was on him in absolute shock, daring him to prove his claim.

Skull easily pulled out the heir ring to the Slytherin line and wore it without any ill side effects. He then hissed and caused the cobra that the goblins tested him with to rise up from around his neck.

"Magic itself has decided by the ancient and olde laws that I am the true heir of Slytherin, not this self-styled Lord who you followed. He lost the right to bear the name and magicks of Slytherin when he killed his father and pinned the crime on his uncle, marking him by the old ways as a kinslayer in name and deed. When I absorbed part of the family magics by accident after he tried and failed to kill me, the old magicks decided that my claim on the title was greater through Rite of Conquest," said Skull with a tone as flat as death itself. "Your precious 'Dark Lord' is little more than a nameless bastard son of a squib who could have been great, and chose to destroy his soul and his magic instead."

Dead Silence.

The looks in the eyes of the dark faction slowly began to shift.

They had dismissed him as a child who had a few noble titles and was trying to earn their respect. Someone they could dismiss or trick easily enough into doing what they wanted with him none the wiser.

Instead they got a Lord who was fully prepared to make them submit, but was gave them the decency to make their own choices whom they would serve. He was most certainly nothing like they were expecting (well save for Lucius who had already met Harry Black before) and there was nothing in his behavior that said he would follow anything Dumbledore had to say.

Rookwood very much wanted to spit, but knew better. Lucius would gut him if he did.

"What do you plan to do?"

Skull eased up on his Flames, making it slightly easier to breath. They were actually listening now, which was a vast improvement.

"First off, I am not going to demand that you start marrying the mundanes or the new bloods. Nor am I going to tell you to stop practicing the old ways or the darker rituals that are part of your family heritage. I am a devout follower of Loki, and it was those same rituals and practices that have kept our culture alive for centuries despite persecution and the foolishness of the Ministers over the years," said Skull bluntly.

That seemed to ease the minds of many in the room. It was time to use the same argument that had won Lord Malfoy over the first time he came to this manor.

"The main problem as I see it, is that the new bloods aren't being properly instructed in our culture and are being deliberately left ignorant by the so-called 'Light' faction who pretend they have their best interests in heart. Dumbledore talks a lot, but in reality has done very little to insure our culture is preserved and is using his pawn Fudge to destroy our traditions and ways. Ignorance is no excuse for the fact that they have not bothered to realize that magical culture is not the same as the one they were born into. I am suggesting we educate them to how things work in _polite_ society and if they don't get the bloody hint then by all means pretend they are lesser than you."

"That's it?" said MacNair in disbelief.

"That's it. If they aren't going to make an effort, then there's no reason for you to acknowledge the fact they exist in your presence," said Skull bluntly.

"Why do you keep calling them 'new bloods'?" demanded Crabbe Senior.

"Because by and large, most 'muggleborns' are actually _descended_ from squibs who were cast out decades ago that have managed to reawaken their magical roots. Muggles have found out that marrying too closely into family lines _damages_ the health of the child produces, which is why the number of Squibs has been rising of late. I'm not saying you should start marrying the returning bloodlines into your own, but added fresh bloodlines would mean you would have a better chance of producing a witch or wizard in your grandchildren. There _are_ other pure blood lines out there after all," said Skull bluntly.

"Name one," challenged Rookwood.

"Fon?"

Fon's smirk was cold and made him look like a vengeful dragon. He calmly produced a ball of Storm Flame, which had the dark wizards stare at him in shock.

"This is Fon, my sister's betrothed. He comes from a distinguished magical line that goes back well over fifteen hundred years, with several notable witches and wizards. His clan does not practice inter-marrying in the same family, but rather seeks out those who have displayed great potential or magical ability to improve their family's prestige. As a result they rarely produce a single squib in their bloodline, and those that do appear are usually able to produce an heir that has magic anyway within one or two generations," said Skull simply.

"So it's true? That you adopted Bellatrix Lestrange's daughter?" asked Goyle Senior.

"I refuse to acknowledge that disgrace as my mother," said Camellia bluntly. A dark aura appeared behind her as the room around them began to shift into something far darker and more menacing. "Harry acknowledged my potential despite being cast out by my own blood kin and has given me new purpose."

Every Death Eater there shivered. They recognized that tone _immediately_ , because they had all to a man had plenty of experience being around Bellatrix when she was at her most dangerous and fully prepared to commit untold death and destruction at the Dark Lord's command with glee.

Clearly Camellia did in fact take after her mother, although she had picked a far superior master who actually took care of his own.

However there was always _one_ idiot who couldn't be convinced, save for cold, hard reality.

"I don't buy this nonsense for one bloody minute! We all know you're just one of Dumbledore's pets," sneered Avery.

Lucius wanted to sigh. Honestly, it was like some of these fools had no brains to speak of... perhaps Harry's suggestion they find Draco a wife _away_ from the current pool of acceptable females in England had some merit if this was the best it could come up with.

"Oh really?" purred Skull and something about the way he said it made everyone stand up and take notice. This was when he was going to prove his Black heritage ran true, and they knew it. "So you're saying I'm one of those gelded imbeciles who couldn't kill even if my own life depended on it?"

Avery glared at him.

"I'm saying you're nothing but a pathetic pretender, one who will fall at the first sight of real bloodshed you brat."

"Blaise, you did bring what I asked you, correct? I wouldn't want to ruin my dear cousin's rather nice carpeting with what I have planned."

"Of course," he agreed, and pulled out... a muggle plastic tarp?

Seeing the confusion on the faces of the Death Eaters, Skull grinned in a way that sent shivers down their spines. It was far too reminiscent of Bellatrix when she was about to do something particularly traumatic and horrifying.

"Dobby! Could you bring that pathetic rat here and make sure he's on the tarp?"

The house elf nodded, and within seconds a mostly insane Peter Pettigrew was on the tarp. His mind was more or less gone, but he still retained enough sanity to recognize who was around him. The Dark Mark was clearly visible on his left arm.

"Now children, pay attention because I'm about to indulge in a rather old school method in disposing a pathetic traitor and a coward," said Skull grinning.

He drew a knife and with calm ease proceeded to cut two deep lines in Peter's back, ignoring the screams. Then, to the collective shock of those around him who realized what he was about to do, ripped out Peter's lungs from behind and left them outside his ribcage.

"...Did you seriously just perform a _blood eagle_?" asked Blaise incredulous.

"Why did you think I told you to bring the tarp?" replied Skull, already wiping his hands clean of the blood. A spell kept Peter within the confines of the plastic (thus sparing Lucius' carpet and making the clean up much easier). He stared each and every one of those who doubted the fact that he meant business in the eye as Peter's lungs began to succumb to the fact they were no longer protected inside his body. They slowly deflated, and his eyes went dark as he let out one last gasp before dying.

Dead Silence, as shock and disbelief sank in. None of the Death Eaters presence could believe that Harry bloody _Potter_ had just killed a man in cold blood in one of the most brutal and traditional ways of ending a traitor.

Any thoughts of the Lord before them suffering the same idiocy Dumbledore was infected with that had allowed them their freedom died in that moment.

They were so used to the broken fanged lion that they were wholly unprepared for the dragon that had arrived in their midst. And he meant _business_.


	26. Chapter 26

"I cannot believe you actually _did_ that. You literally made them shit themselves!" cackled Camellia with delight.

As much as she would deny it, she was very much her mother's daughter. Seeing her brother put those fakers in their place had made something in her stand up and dance with glee.

"I can't believe you went through with that. I've never actually _seen_ that particular death performed," said Fon with fascination.

"Made them take me seriously, didn't it? Besides, Verde was getting bored with him and he finally made some use of himself," said Skull. He was so taking Dreamless Sleep tonight.

"I have to admit, seeing their 'Holy Shit!' expressions when they heard his death rattle was hilarious," said Blaise amused.

"...Do I even _want_ to know what you've been up to?" asked Sirius.

"I just killed Peter by putting him through a Blood Eagle to make the darker families take me seriously. They were so shocked a few of them actually shit themselves," answered Skull.

"Oh, is that all. Wait, _what_? You did _what_ to Peter?!" said Sirius, head almost snapping as he whipped it around to look at his godson in absolute shock.

"He ripped out Pettigrew's lungs and had all the 'innocent' Death Eaters witness the man's death to prove he most certainly wasn't as passive as Dumbledore was. It was a very effective stunt that gained him a lot of respect among those fools," said Blaise.

"And Aunt Narcissa was very pleased with the fact that Skull was thoughtful enough to have a tarp laid down so Peter's corpse didn't ruin the carpet," said Camellia giggling.

Skull was taking a drink of water when he heard Sirius' disbelieving comment.

"It's almost like you're trying to bring back the Midnight Famiglia or something," he said, shaking his head.

Skull sprayed water all over Remus.

"What?" he said, trying to get his breath back.

Sirius blinked at that reaction.

"I thought you already knew. The Potters have ties with the Cosa Nostra going back to when the Vongola first started out. Though the Potters have a _direct_ connection to that particular family because their first boss was the third son of the family's Head at the time. When it became clear he was more predisposed towards soul fire, which was heavily frowned upon at the time, his father handed him over to a family allied to the Potters to raise as their own in Italy. Imagine his shock finding out he had somehow managed to create a mafia family!" said Sirius.

"...Are you telling me that Skull is directly related to Vongola's _Primo_?" said Blaise in disbelief.

"I'd have to check the tapestry to be sure, but I'm fairly certain that you're descended from his third son who had magic and came back to the family," said Sirius.

"And what was that crack about bringing the Midnight Famiglia back?" asked Skull seriously.

"Giotto wanted a fall back option in case things didn't work out in Italy, so he convinced his father to set up a separate base along with a legitimate business. He also convinced Daemon Spade, who is related to our Black clan to help fund it... most of our 'business' that are less than legal have strong ties to the mafia, it's just that most haven't bothered with it in centuries since Giotto 'retired' to Japan rather than deal with his adopted cousin," said Sirius. Charlus was proud of the Potter family history, even the bits most would declare 'dark' on principle.

"Wait. Are you telling me Ricardo Vongola wasn't related to Giotto at _all_?" said Fon.

"Giotto was adopted, and probably forgot, why?" asked Sirius.

Skull looked at Fon.

"I always heard those rings were blood locked. Hell, there was a big fuss over them rejecting Xanxus in favor of Tsuna," said Skull.

"Sounds to me like we could make things _very_ interesting should this get out," said Fon smiling.

"What are you two whispering about?" asked Camellia.

"Just plotting on how complicated we could make the Vongola line of succession if we're ever that bored," said Skull cheerfully.

Tsuna was a nice kid, and he really didn't want to see that sort of life forced on him a second time if he could help it. And considering Xanxus was nice to Viper to the point she actually respected him, they were already planning to nip that problem in the bud, if only for something to do.

Anyone who could worm their way past Viper's shell enough that she wouldn't automatically charge them was interesting enough to protect. Besides, he was sorta family in a way.

"Wait... so Harry is directly related to Giotto Vongola _and_ indirectly related to Daemon Spade?!" said Blaise in disbelief.

Camellia already knew part of that, as she had checked the family tapestry once they had moved into Black Castle. She had merely thought the name was a coincidence. She hadn't noticed the fact her brother was related to the Vongola Primo though, because the mansion was still under repairs and the tapestry was almost completely ruined.

Skull suddenly made a face.

"What is it?" asked Verde curious.

"I just realized that this means I'm directly related to the braying jackass known as Iemitsu," he said grimacing.

Dead silence passed between the three future Arcobaleno. Twin pairs of deep sympathy and open pity came across Verde and Fon's faces as they both patted him on the shoulder.

"You poor, poor bastard," said Verde with open pity in his voice.

"No one should have to suffer the indignity of being related to _him_ ," agreed Fon in distaste.

Let it be said that Iemitsu left an impression on people, and that was before you heard Lal Mirch bitch for _hours_ about what a narcissistic jackass he was that made her life a living hell with his stupidity.

"Ugh... give me Dumbledore's nonsense over his bullshit any day," said Skull grimacing. The other two nodded in agreement.

Dumbledore was a senile old fool, but Iemitsu was a fool who lived in his own little world and brayed like an incompetent jackass and expected everyone to fall in line with how he thought the world was.

"Do I want to know?" asked Sirius.

"Let's just say there's a complete pain in the ass that is unfortunately a direct descendant of Giotto that we all dislike and leave it at that," said Fon.

"I'll never understand why Lal didn't just smother that bastard in his sleep and be done with it," said Skull in disgust.

"So who do you have to meet next?" asked Sirius, changing the subject.

"The neutrals are the last ones. After that I am so crashing and not getting up for three days at least," said Skull groaning.

Dear Loki, he hated politics and anything to do with it. It was such a pain in the ass, having to listen to honeyed words and trying to find what they were really saying under all their crap!

Skull wanted to weep with relief. Thank _Loki_ the neutrals already knew who he was and that he was one of them. Then again most of them had parents who actually listened to rumor and figured out his actual magical alignment simply due to the fact he was meeting all three factions and treating them accordingly.

Only someone who was a neutral could pull something like that off.

As such he only had to explain his main plan once things really kicked off again before they accepted him as one of their own, and agreed to, if not help him then at least have the decency to leave the country and not get involved in the first place after leaving an agreed amount of coin as a silent show of support. The amount depending on how well off they were, but it was enough to say they 'helped' in any war without having to be directly involved.

A move that appealed to them quite well, since it allowed them to maintain their neutrality.

At this point Skull was very seriously thinking of reinstating the "Midnight Famiglia" as it was _properly_ called if and when his secondary came out.

Either that or if he got sick and tired of idiots trying to convince the Arcobaleno to officially join a famiglia. He was sure Lal would be happy avoiding Iemitsu this go around...she had been positively miserable around him and he had made her blood pressure skyrocket just being around him.

The others took one look at how stressed he was and let him sleep in for three days as he threatened. He really hated having to do all that annoying double talk just to insure that when Voldemort did come back he would have a hell of a time getting any support at all, and that Dumbledore's own support base was absolutely gutted by the time he tried to salvage his reputation.

* * *

"Ugh... I need something to do that doesn't involve politics or being anywhere in the UK!" said Skull with a whine.

Camellia, who was working on her odd 'tracking' ability (however disgusting it was to produce it), decided to try and track someone on a lark just to see if it would work. After all, the Black family tapestry must be defective if that man was still registering as "alive".

She sneezed into the paper...only to stare at it with no little amount of confusion and disbelief.

She did it again. And again. And would have done it once more if she had any 'material' to work with.

"Do you have a cold or something?" asked Skull.

"...I'm getting an active 'trace' on someone that shouldn't still be alive."

"Who?"

"Daemon Spade. The family tapestry still claims he's around, which is rather ridiculous and there are also extra branches which shouldn't exist because they begin a hundred years after he supposedly died."

Skull thought back on what he knew of Daemon Spade.

"Do we even have a picture of that guy?"

Camellia lead him to the portrait hall. There, near the very top where they had to get brooms to find it, was a moving portrait of the Primo's generation.

"Huh. I guess the black hair gene was introduced later or something," said Skull looking at Vongola Primo. Then he realized something and shakily asked "Hey sis? What was Daemon's Flame type again?"

"Mist. Why?"

"And Alaude, he was a Cloud right?" asked Skull.

"As far as I know. What's wrong?"

"Ugh. I guess this means the tenth generation were either descendants or genetic throwbacks or something... the resemblance is way too uncanny! Hell, get Fon here... he needs to see this too!" said Skull.

Camellia left, but returned with her betrothed a few minutes later.

"What's wrong?"

"Take a good long look at the Vongola Primo's generation, specifically the blond with a face that's almost a dead ringer for Kyouya," said Skull flatly.

Fon blinked, before adding a bit more light.

"What in blazes?"

"That was my reaction. Are you related to Alaude or something, because I know Kyouya has this really weird doppelganger thing going on when you two are put together."

"...I don't know, but I know who to ask. Though I never thought the resemblance would be that strong. What brought this on anyway?"

"Viper has an active 'trace' on Daemon Spade. And if the resemblance is _that_ noticeable and with the way the timelines supposedly don't match up with his descendants..."

Fon looked closer at Daemon and realized exactly what Skull was getting at.

"Then it's possible Mukuro is his descendant and his affinity for possessing others is actually _hereditary_ and not entirely a result of the experiments performed on him. It might also explain why he had such a strong resonance with Chrome, come to think of it... their appearance is far too similar," said Fon, getting to the same conclusion Skull had.

"And if Viper is still able to track him..."

"Then we have a wayward Black to track down, if only to kill our boredom," said Fon smirking.

"I almost want to see the look on his face when he finds out how we found him," said Skull laughing. This was something he never expected and he really, really hoped he was right because it would definitely give him something to do.

 _Elsewhere in Europe..._

Daemon shivered. It felt like something horrible and utterly humiliating was about to happen and there was no way to avoid it. He wondered if it had anything to do with the odd feeling he felt trying to lock onto him, before he got annoyed and cloaked himself.


	27. Chapter 27

Blaise had had enough. He grabbed Skull and held him to the wall with an annoyed look on his face.

"Harry, as your Left Hand and dorm mate, it is my solemn duty to inform you that if you don't stop singing along to that damn opera music then I will have no other choice but to smother you in your sleep," said Blaise.

"Meanie."

Blaise twitched.

"If I were mean I would do it without giving you any warning," said Blaise flatly.

"Skull, I have destroyed every copy of the CD you've been using and I have a seek and destroy order on any that make it's way into this house. Give it a rest," said Verde.

Skull looked to Fon and Viper. Their faces were equally flat.

He pouted.

"We're not saying you can't sing... you have a rather surprising range for some reason, just that you need to diversify your song list," said Viper.

"Phoenix tears," mumbled Skull.

"Excuse me?"

"Putting undiluted phoenix tears directly in the blood stream when it's already on overdrive counteracting another agent like say, basilisk venom, causes them to integrate into every cell to insure survive. As a side effect it also alters the vocal cords, especially when you have an affinity for them in the first place," he explained.

Verde stared at him.

"You're sure of this?" he asked intently, already in science mode.

"I _was_ completely tone deaf when I was a kid. Imagine my shock when I found out people weren't complaining about my singing after the curse," snarked Skull. "Took the healer's ages...once they got over the shock of how much damage my body and soul have taken over the years, to pin it down as phoenix tears being the root cause."

"Fascinating," said Verde.

"Yes, I'm sure I could somehow trick Fawkes into crying for you if you really want to play with them," said Skull, rolling his eyes.

As if summoned by his name (and he likely was), Fawkes appeared. He was positively meek and subservient when a less than amused Lark showed up and gave him a Look.

"What. The. Hell."

Skull openly stared at Fon with open disbelief, and so was Verde.

"What's wrong?" asked Camellia.

"He's already bonded to a Feng-Huang. I've never heard of anyone bonding to a normal phoenix on top of that," said Fon with a pained voice.

Skull snorted.

"Well I've been known to do six impossible things before breakfast and still have time to do seven more before dinner. I think in this case it's more along the lines of Fawkes not wanting to get caught in the line of fire when Dumbledore's idiocy comes back to bite him in the ass. That and he damn well knows who's at the top of the food chain among the birds I have," said Skull amused.

Fawkes gave a trill that seemed to confirm Skull's analysis. Then he gave another trill almost in question.

"Sure, you can crash with me until this entire mess is sorted out once and for all, or they put a proper replacement that isn't going to fall back on bad habits as the head of the school," said Skull.

Fon pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You speak phoenix."

"To be more specific, I speak Mythic," said Skull.

"Mythic?" repeated Blaise incredulous.

"Oh dear sweet Loki don't tell me that you were being _serious_ about when you told the Lovegoods you speak mythical beast!"

"Of course I'm not Sirius! Why would I want to be that washed up old has-been who licks his own balls when I can be the awesome and Immortal Skull-sama?" said Skull openly offended. "Besides, I know I can do better than that pathetic man-whore."

"Is that a challenge I hear? And what's Fawkes doing here?" asked Sirius.

"He wants to avoid the fall out, so he asked if he could crash with me for a while," said Skull.

"...Don't you already have a phoenix?" asked Sirius.

"He's not bonded to me specifically, but to whoever is the head of Hogwarts. He can skirt that because I'm technically an heir," said Skull.

Fawkes had always felt guilty over the fact that Dumbledore got away with so much because everyone took one look at him and thought the man was a good person. Skull had never blamed him, because Fawkes had always been on his side. He had even helped out a few times when he was cursed, even though he wasn't bonded to Skull at all.

"Technically an heir?"

"Right of Conquest," shrugged Skull.

"Ah, say no more," said Sirius nodding. "Anyway who's in the mood for Quidditch?"

Skull's face blanked, before he face-palmed.

"Loki, I almost forgot about the Quidditch World Cup. That was a complete mess and a half," said Skull...before a sudden grin came upon his face. "It's Bulgaria versus Ireland, right?"

"Yup," said Sirius happily.

"In that case I have a challenge for you... first one to convince one or more Veela to join you in your tent is officially better at picking up women," said Skull.

"You're on," said Sirius, eyes gleaming.

"Count me out," said Blaise. "Aren't you a bit young for that sort of thing anyway?"

"I always knew you were a pervert at heart Blaise," said Skull cackling, dodging the other Cloud's attempts to strangle him. "I never said I was planning to _sleep_ with them, after all. They just have to come to the tent."

"I can't believe you don't want a harem," pouted Sirius.

"Way too much trouble for me to deal with, and that's without the inevitable drama that comes with having one," said Skull flatly.

"You're no fun at all."

"I bet the women will find me adorably romantic and like me better than you," said Skull smugly.

"Arrogant brat."

"Washed-up man-whore," countered Skull.

Fon and the others rolled their eyes as the insult war began, with Skull winning by a wide margin considering he had a much larger and far more impressive vocabulary.

* * *

Skull didn't bother with the roguish grin Sirius had plastered on his face. He found the Veela easily enough.

"Ladies, I currently have a bet with a washed up man whore who is unfortunately my uncle that his rather sad skills at picking up women are not enough to bring even one of you to his tent for who knows what. Then again he actually thinks having a harem is a smart investment," said Skull rather cheerfully with a blunt tone.

"..."

"And you come to us, why?" asked one woman amused.

"Because the bet only states that I can bring more women to my tent, not that we would do anything more than talk. I had to spell it out for my dorm mates why harems are a really bad idea and not worth it," said Skull. "There's also the fact that your allure does absolutely nothing for me, despite the fact I'm not actually gay."

"You are an odd one," said the leader of the group. She was openly amused at this point.

"Honesty and being upfront tends to get you farther than honeyed words and empty action," said Skull cheerfully.

It was something that had annoyed Reborn to no end, finding out Skull had better luck with women he struck out with than he did simply because he was genuinely honest most of the time.

"What's in it for us?" asked one amused Veela.

"I have good booze and a sister in dire need of advice in how to properly seduce her betrothed. The guy can be a total stick in the mud sometimes," said Skull. Fon was going to get him for this, but the look on his face would be _soooo_ worth it later.

Hearing the giggled from the Veela, he knew he had succeeded.

Then they ran into Sirius and agreed to come to Skull's tent purely to see the look on his face that his godson succeeded where he so badly failed.

Skull was whistling cheerfully as he left the Veela camp, and grinned when he saw the twins.

"Hello Gents. Care to step over here for a business discussion?"

Fred and George shared a look between each other.

"What do you have in mind, ickle Harrikens?" asked George.

"I'd be willing to front five thousand galleons as a business investment to your joke shop and even loan you a house elf to make special deliveries in exchange for being part owner of your shop," said Skull seriously.

Seeing the twin's jaws drop in shock at the amount, Skull grinned.

"No way in Helhiem are you two _not_ going to outstrip Zonko's in a year or two with a proper shop, not when you have the Marauders to consult for prank ideas. Besides, this gives me the perfect opportunity to sell some of the ideas I've had without having to stick around to do it," said Skull.

"Like what?" asked George with interest.

Skull pulled out a rather cheap crystal. Then he took out a strange item barely the size of a lipstick tube and held the button on the side down directly under the crystal.

To the utter fascination of the twins, the crystal began to vibrate to the point they could literally hear _music_ playing from it.

"What is that? And how is that little thing making the music play?" asked Fred fascinated.

"Child's play. It took us only a few hours to figure out how to hit the correct resonance frequency for his blasted music," said Verde sniffing. The hardest part was figuring out the right light source to hit the resonance frequency of the crystal without the blasted thing melting. It had been a pain making a laser pointer strong enough to make the sound audible without overloading the rock.

Fred and George jumped at how suddenly the green-haired Ravenclaw had appeared.

"I take it you're offering them the same deal you gave me?" he asked Skull.

"More like I'm offering to help them start their joke shop like they always wanted with less demands than the goblins or Loki-forbid, Viper would make of them. Besides, this means we can trick the pure bloods into accepting modern technology at their own pace, instead of having to deal with their aversion to it."

Verde suddenly snorted.

"I wonder how they would react if they realized their own foolishness helped to sponsor the digital age and the rise of cell phones?"

"Dear Loki, that would be the best irony of all," cackled Skull. "Using magical gold to get cell phones off the ground on top of the technology we're used to, despite the fact they hate it!"

The twins were amused, though they couldn't explain why. There was something positively infectious about Harry's good mood... you couldn't be sad around him unless he was having a really, really bad day.

"So you want to use our shop as a front to sell your own inventions to the pure bloods, on top of helping us design and sell pranks," said George after a moment.

"You can have Bill look at the contract if you want. It's as close as I could get to what a standard small business loan looks like with a few tweaks," said Skull.

"Nah, we trust you," said George.

"You might be a snake who hides in plain sight, but you've always done solid by your word," said Fred.

"Can't believe it took the old goat three years to figure out the hat didn't put you in the wrong house," said George.

"Though you're still a Gryff at heart mate," said Fred grinning.

"Besides, even we can tell there's nothing in this contract that keeps us from pranking the living hell out of you if you tried to pull one over on us," said George, eyes glinting.

"Pretty sure your shadow would be more than happy to fund any pranks your way for all the headaches you give him on a daily basis," said Fred snickering.

Skull snorted. Shadow was a good way to describe Blaise.

Then an evil idea came to him.

"You only have two years left at school right?" he asked, already writing Blaise. He was entirely amused to hear his 'shadow' swearing from clear across the camp ground when he read the message on the two-way parchment.

Seeing the gleam on the eyes of the twins, Skull outlined to them exactly what he had long since figured out about the house cup and why the Slytherins hadn't lynched him yet for insuring they didn't win it since he joined the school and pretty much made the teacher's lives (specifically McGonagall and Dumbledore) hell.

McGonagall felt a shiver of despair go down her spine as Skull gleefully informed the twins how little the house cup actually mattered in the grand scheme of things and why putting so much emphasis on winning it was beyond ridiculous.

Best of all, since Percy had graduated and was currently away learning several new languages at the suggestion of Barty Black (he had been apprehensive about listening to the suggestion of a confirmed Death Eater, but he found a kindred spirit in the man) the odds of their mother being informed with Lark playing interference were next to none.

They could shut Ron up easily enough, and Ginny would keep her mouth shut so long as they brought her into their pranks rather than making her a victim of them.

It would be keeping their housemates from lynching them for going all out that would be the hard part.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot. Whatever you do, don't bet with Ludo Bagman," said Skull.

"Why?" asked George.

"Long story short he has a lot of goblin clans really pissed off with him. He likes to gamble but has a bad habit of reneging on his debts when he loses. You'd only be losing your savings if you tried to make a bet with him."

"Thanks for the warning," said Fred.

"That being said, tell me how you plan to bet and I'll add my own coin into yours so you get a better return. Camellia's said she plans to add her own money to whatever I bet on since my luck has to have some effect on gambling with how crappy it is whenever I try to do anything interesting," grinned Skull. "By the way, want to watch as Sirius loses the bet I made with him concerning who's better at picking up women?"

"Loki, yes!" said the twins eagerly.

Sirius was so put out when he saw nearly the entire group of Veela cheerleaders in his godson's tent when most of them had laughed at him outright when he suggested they spend some time after the game together.

"How the hell did you get them to come to your tent?" he pouted.

"Told them the truth. They were so amused that they agreed to do it because they found it funny," said Skull smugly.


	28. Chapter 28

"Should we wake him?" asked Blaise in a tone that said he didn't really _care_ about the commotion outside.

"You really want to bother him over something this trivial?" asked Fon.

The 'former' Death Eaters who apparently forgot the warning Skull had given him or were too drunk to care that maybe pissing him off was a bad idea were out causing a riot.

Skull was currently sleeping in his own 'room' inside the trunk he had set up in the wizard's tent Sirius had brought with him, apparently forgetting Skull did far more traveling than he did.

"Stay in here, I'll go deal with the idiots outside," said Fon, slightly bloodthirsty.

He was slightly surprised when Camellia stopped him before he exited the tent and gave him a kiss on the lips.

"For luck."

"Why would I need luck with a bunch of drunken fools who think their slow casting skills will actually protect them?" asked Fon amused. "Besides, when do you need a reason to kiss me without asking?"

He would fully admit to falling head over heels with Camellia Black, soon to be Viper once Skull obtained the full titles as Lord Black/Potter.

Camellia blushed at that, and didn't do more than lightly squeak when Fon kissed her back on the cheek.

"I won't be long," he said smiling.

Today had been a very good day, and he had high hopes this meant they could move forward properly as boyfriend and girlfriend. Being stuck in his teenage body a second time and having to deal with the headaches of puberty didn't sound nearly half as bad if it meant he finally was able to date Viper. Even if she didn't remember the events that had shaped her the first time around.

Fon came back an hour later looking rather smug. The wizards would have a great deal of trouble explaining _how_ they had their wands snapped and ended up in those positions. He was very pleased that the odd games of tag (complete with weights) had allowed him to _almost_ regain his former speed in a remarkable amount of time. That and the fact Skull finally figured out how to use his Sun secondary externally meant that any recovery time needed was shortened considerably.

It wasn't as strong as his Sky Flames, and it had taken Skull _ages_ to figure out how to combine his Cloud and Sun together without accidentally killing the patient (the test rats would _not_ be missed and Verde had been more than happy to record the results for Skull), but once he did Fon would openly swear that Skull might actually rival Reborn if he put his mind to it.

Of course Reborn had never been the best at healing. He was more about activating "potential" and stimulating any internal abilities as opposed to "healing others". Likely why he had become a hit man, come to think of it.

Camellia was so pleased by his return that she pointedly dragged him off into one of the spare rooms. Blaise was just relieved she was a very private person and wasn't forcing him to listen to the two of them make out or anything.

Coming from a pure blood family meant Camellia wasn't going to let Fon go past second base until _after_ they were properly married. Besides, they were a few years too early to be thinking of such things, hence why Blaise allowed them to have their privacy.

"We need to leave," said Sirius, having finally made it back to the tent. The amount of people he had to walk through was ridiculous.

"If you're talking about the drunk morons in skull masks, Fon already dealt with them. In case you haven't noticed there's currently a distinct lack of screaming going on," said Blaise without looking up from the fiction book Skull had loaned him from his personal library.

Considering the insomnia he had, Skull generally tended to read when he couldn't sleep. It helped, if only to keep him from being bored.

Sirius blinked, popped his head out of the tent and realized that the commotion had more or less stopped.

"Where's Harry?"

"Sleeping in his room," said Blaise without looking up.

"And Camellia?"

"Making out with Fon for dealing with those idiots so they didn't wake Harry up," replied Blaise.

"Huh. So everything is fine now?" said Sirius slowly.

"Unless you want us to head home since it's over," shrugged Blaise.

"Probably be a good idea. You said he's in his room?"

"In the case," said Blaise, hooking a thumb behind him where the innocent looking travel case was sitting on the table.

"...Mind helping me take the tent down so we can go home and sleep in real beds?"

Skull had been the one to put it up, and Sirius had no idea how to put it away properly.

"If you think I'm stupid enough to interrupt Camellia when she's finally making a proper move on Fon just to take down a tent you have another thing coming. I have to share a tower with her and she doesn't need line of sight to make my life hell," said Blaise flatly.

He only needed to remember the 'warning' Camellia gave by going after Pansy when she made one too many comments about her flat chest to get the warning.

No pissing off a girl who would become the strongest Mist.

* * *

Skull was actually feeling pretty good about this year. Not only had he nipped most of his Hogwarts adventures in the bud early, but he actually got to enjoy making Dumbledore's life a living hell in the name of pranks.

He had already freed Barty (who was a language professor at the school and thoroughly enjoying his new lease on life), killed Peter (he most assuredly would not be missed by anyone), and given a major shake up of the community so that Tom would have to break into Azkaban just to get any real support, since most of the people with enough sense (or gold) to avoid being jailed had been thoroughly disillusioned to his lies and had more or less opted to get their slave brands removed.

Only those who had zero sense of morality or who had gotten firmly wrapped up in Riddle's Sky were following him now.

However Skull wasn't about to become complacent. He knew far too well that if he did, Potter Luck would rear it's nasty little head and remind him that he would forever live in "interesting times" without any input whatsoever from him.

Considering the headaches he had averted already, he fully expected this year to completely suck.

"You look pretty pleased with yourself. Something good happen?" asked Skull.

Fon was decidedly smug about something. Camellia was off having "girl time" with Hermione and Luna (and it was seriously looking like Verde would end up with an accidental threesome at this rate), so it was just the guys. Verde was busy reading some science journal and scoffing at how "low-level" the intelligence of his fellow scientists were and Blaise had a pair of headphones on so he could get some relative peace before Skull's need for chaos kicked in.

"Camellia dragged me off after I dealt with the idiots in Death Eater masks," he replied.

It took Skull a moment to realize what Fon wasn't saying, because he was cool like that.

He grinned.

"I bet you're loving the fact I was shipping you two long before you came back enough to set you up with a betrothal contract with her."

"Having the approval of her brother is a nice bonus," agreed Fon. "Personally I can't wait for her memories to come back and for her to realized exactly what you did to change her own past. She's either going to have difficulty looking you in the eye or try to charge you for something completely random just to hide her real feelings."

Skull snorted as did Verde because that was so Viper.

"Knowing my luck it'll happen sometime between this year and next year. I'm just going to do a full wait and see approach, once I make sure I don't end up in that stupid tournament again anyway."

"You seem certain something will happen," said Blaise.

"Fourth year, got dragged into the fucking Tri Wizard tournament because no one told me of the clause that allowed _involuntary_ participants to drop out without harm and Riddle came back. I've managed to avert the lesser disasters while building up a pretty solid support base... and I know my luck. This year something big is going to happen that will either have long term side effects or will almost screw me over."

"Tri Wizard tournament?" said Blaise faintly.

"What about fifth year?" asked Verde.

"Minister got it in his head Dumbledore was building an army out of the school, so he sent Umbridge to make our lives hell. I also lost Sirius because my mental shields were totaled thanks to Snape," said Skull succinctly. "Most of those issues has already been dealt with and this time I no longer give a shit about what the people in the school would think of me if I let my real self out."

"This time you have actual friends there to support you who aren't reliant on the opinion of the adults," said Fon gently.

Harry Potter had been more or less lead around by a noose around his neck from the moment that prophecy had been made and Voldemort set it in motion. Dumbledore never really bothered to look up alternatives to sacrificing one child to his vaulted "Greater Good" nonsense and had more or less insured Harry would be more than happy to martyr himself like a lamb to the slaughter.

Skull, on the other hand? Skull had lived a full life of adventure and mishaps, often with the discreet support of the Arcobaleno who showed they cared in their own way before the end. He might have been a complete pain in the ass around them, but he was _theirs_ and they were all possessive enough to make everyone else's life hell if they dared to try and hurt _their_ Cloud.

That was their job, thank you.

 _At Hogwarts..._

Blaise barely twitched when Dumbledore announced the tournament, as by this point he had learned to take Harry's word about his luck as truth.

He had _seen_ things that made him believe, like randomly finding rooms that had valuable things, only for half of them to be cursed. Some of them with really weird or outdated ones at that.

Never mind the fact Harry quite literally handed Verde Ravenclaw's Diadem last year, only for Verde to recreate the spells on it (though not before capturing the intriguing specimen of Riddle and his fractured Sky...considering the damage done to Skull's own Flames by the time he was picked, Verde was currently using the horcrux to find a way to _mend_ fractured Flame types) and then hide the thing in plain sight.

When Flitwick finally figured out that the new addition to the bust of Ravenclaw wasn't a replica, but the real thing, he very nearly had a heart attack.

Verde had been not so quietly amused as the uproar he caused with that minor prank... it had taken the half-goblin two months before he noticed the thing was there at all.

(Coincidentally Luna had great fun trying it on before they let Hermione in on the fact Skull had stumbled across it inside the castle. He had to bribe her with an original first edition of _Hogwarts: A History_ dated well before Grindlewald came into the picture before she quit trying to hex him for giving it to Verde first.)

"So... who wants to place bets on when Verde figures out he has all the makings of a threesome with Hermione and Luna?"

Camellia turned to look at him, before an evil grin came across her face.

"Can I have a new camera to record that? Because I'm sure his face will be absolutely hilarious when it does happen."

Hermione, despite her hang ups on some of Verde's experiments (they had kept her away from Peter for multiple reasons), absolutely thrived being his assistant. The only real hang up was that she was too caught up in assuming the world was black and white, rather than a multitude of grays.

Luna... Luna just loved watching Verde work and all the interesting things he could create. Besides, he gave her such amusing toys to keep people far from her things and she never had to suffer bullies for long before he got annoyed and dealt with them.

"So. How are we going to handle the welcome for the foreigners coming to compete?" asked Skull.

"What."

"Each school does this ridiculous grandstanding display to show their superiority once they arrive. Dumbledore didn't say anything and just had us sing the school song... it was horrible," said Skull shuddering.

"Dear gods... I am not suffering through that dissonant disaster!" said Blaise.

"Which is why once I've had some proper sleep I'm going to post a new bounty for all the houses. Winner gets to show off what they can do in front of the other schools and gets bragging rights that they were able to prove Hogwarts is better for the year... that and a two hundred galleon prize."

"Is Camellia alright with you spending that money?"

"If it means I don't have to deal with the headache of listening to people attempt to sing out of tune and tempo, yes," said Camellia flatly.

She did all the budgeting for Skull, since he had no interest in it and she enjoyed it. Which was why he usually ran it by her if he was planning to spend more than a certain set amount.

It was thanks to her that his vaults were positively flourishing with gold and the various currencies in mundane banks.

"And if that fails, I'll do what I do best."

It had been far too long since he pulled out that beat up motorbike to use in his stunts.

He _did_ have a motorcycle, but he was building it from scratch along with it's twin. One would be an almost purely mundane vehicle, where he could enjoy his skills to the fullest with no magical tricks save for saving money on the gas tank.

The other one was a special project between him and Sirius, who understood his love of the machines. He had been beyond happy having a shared hobby, especially since his pup could teach him all sorts of fun tricks to impress the ladies with and knew more about the mechanical side of things than he did.

The two of them had spent several hours bickering like children over the most ridiculous details while tinkering on their bikes. It helped to keep Sirius grounded after Azkaban, because while James had been his brother in all but blood he had never understood the appeal of motorcycles when he had his broom instead. Harry though, Harry understood intimately the feeling of power and freedom that came from riding one, living between one moment and the next, never knowing if this was the day you crashed because you were doing something stupid on a machine that was never designed to actually _fly_.

It was the adrenaline rush, knowing you were holding your life in your hands without the comfort of safety charms designed to keep you alive.

Sirius had damn near fallen in love with the ramps that Skull had installed at the Black Estate. And that was before Skull introduced him to the 'Ring of Death', where if you slowed down too much while upside down you could be sent crashing to the bottom instead of doing loops in a complete circle.

It just wasn't the same, riding a broom. Though having experience with flying a broom certainly helped to deal with the disassociation with gravity to the point that you could adjust on the fly.


	29. Chapter 29

"Constant Vigilance!" barked Moody.

Skull grinned. He couldn't wait to see what a real class with the actual Moody would be like.

So he was only slightly surprised when Moody called him up.

"Black. Heard you have had the highest scores in this class for three years running. Think you have what it takes to take me on?" said Moody, his grin terrifying...for everyone else.

"Bring it," said Skull, taking his preferred stance when it came to casting magic. Moody looked at him with open approval. The form was loose, but solid enough to cast quickly, efficiently and retaliate within seconds.

The two stared at each other, with the other students outside the bubble made to contain spell damage and the desks firmly against the wall. It was like two expert swordsmen staring each other down, waiting for the unseen signal to attack.

Most people thought a duel between experts was a clash of violence and action. They would be wrong.

Moody made the first move, seeing as how Black clearly had patience to outlast the limited time they had.

His grin was wide as he struck, working his way up to the more dangerous spells.

"Diffindo!"

Skull dodged, using his much more limber body to contort his frame away from the spell while casting at an angle.

"You need a new eye, old timer? I thought you Aurors were made of sterner stuff?" Skull catcalled.

Moody didn't rise to the taunt. Instead he upped the ante, not giving the brat a chance to rest. To his surprise and pleasure, the kid was not only able to take it, but he started to make the pace rise even more.

Then the atmosphere shifted...it was no longer a play duel between a teacher and student, but a magical sparring match between war veterans.

Skull's eyes began to glow an ominous purple color with amber rings as he began to grin in a feral manner.

Outside, Camellia frowned and realized the danger.

"Someone go get Fon, _now_ ," she ordered. "Or Verde, whoever is closer."

"Why?" asked Blaise.

"Look at his eyes. This isn't a game to him anymore and if it escalates any further he won't limit himself to just magic," she replied.

Blaise looked and saw she was correct. He knew the other's schedule well enough, just in case of times like these. He went straight to the special potions classroom.

"Professor, can I borrow Fon or Verde for a moment. There's an issue in the DADA classroom that they are best to deal with."

"What's going on?" asked Snape. With the addition of new teachers, he was able to slate certain students for extra attention from a potion master, which meant that they could properly flourish without being bored making basic potions.

Needless to say Skull, Fon, Verde and Camellia were all immediately slated for these extra lessons.

"What happened?" asked Fon, already clearing out his cauldron with quick spell.

"Moody pulled Harry up for a mock duel to show them what a real spell battle is like and he's getting a little too into it. Camellia sent me to find you two," said Blaise.

Fon didn't need to hear any more, he was out the door before Verde had a chance to grab his things. Instead the Lightning merely collected Fon's school things and his own before following at a hurried pace.

Fon was already subduing Skull after popping the barrier. Skull recognized who he was immediately and started calming down once he felt the familiar touch of Fon's Flames against his own. Fortunately the class had already ended, and most of the students had already dispersed by the time they got there. If asked, Moody would fully claim they had gotten carried away and lost track of time.

Everyone knew Skull hated losing, so the idea of him not noticing the bell had rung was an acceptable excuse.

Moody was giving them all odd looks.

"You're all Active Flames, aren't you?" he asked.

Camellia stiffened.

"What makes you say that?" asked Fon evenly. He wasn't about to break Omerta.

Moody snorted, before allowing his own Flames to come out. He was a Sunny Lightning.

"Dumbledore may be brilliant, but he wouldn't know an Active if it bit him in the ass. Glad I never joined his Sky," said Moody gruffly.

The group shared a look.

"Storm," said Fon.

"Mist," said Camellia.

"Cloud," said Blaise evenly.

"Lightning."

"I take it Black is a Cloudy Sky?" asked Moody. The purple eyes were a dead give away he was a Cloud, but the Sky was mostly a guess considering he had multiple Elements around him and they weren't trying to kill each other. Especially a Cloud, who were easily the most temperamental.

"You're not going to tell the old goat are you?" asked Verde.

"Fuck Dumbledore," said Moody without hesitation. "I barely respect him as it is after the way he bungled up the last Dark Lord. Could have dealt with the little shit when he was still making a name for himself, and instead he stayed in his ivory tower playing the devil's advocate."

"Mind signing a secrecy contract to that effect?" asked Camellia flatly.

"I'll swear Omerta," said Moody. "I might be an Auror, but that doesn't mean I haven't got any underworld contracts."

Sometimes you had to step back and call in a professional to deal with the really twisted ones, when the law failed you. Moody had learned of the Cosa Nostra during the war, and had made good use of several magically aware hit men and assassins to deal some major damage before Dumbledore caught on and he had to stop in order to avoid being busted.

"Watch out for Dumbledore, he uses Legilmency without any hesitation or remorse on others, even his own people," said Skull. "He wouldn't hesitate to use it on children, for fuck's sake."

Moody nodded gruffly.

"Will you be alright, Black?"

"Surprised you aren't calling me Potter, in all honesty."

"Bah. You may be James Potter's son, but you're obviously a Black through and through," said Moody. "If you decide to reinstate Midnight, let me know."

"Does _everyone_ know about the Midnight famiglia?" asked Skull.

"Only those with any sense. I guarantee if you brought it back, you'd have a lot more support than you'd believe. The only reason Flames aren't advertised like they are in the Cosa Nostra is because none of us want to deal with the idiots in the Ministry trying to regulate it and pissing off the Vindice," said Moody flatly.

"...Yeah, that makes total sense," said Skull nodding. He looked to his friends.

They left the classroom once Skull had firmly calmed down, but it was easy to guess what the topic of discussion would be once they were alone.

"So... should we just go ahead and bring back Midnight, or take over the Ministry? Because in all honesty I do _not_ want to deal with cleaning up that cesspit," said Skull.

"Be easier to simply burn the old one down and create a new one, or create a shadow monarchy that works with the current one," said Verde.

"An entire community ruled by a single famiglia," mused Blaise. It sounded so very tempting.

"And we could have Hermione help revamp all the laws to something a bit more sensible," said Skull.

Camellia stared at them both.

"Oh gods. I am _not_ going to do all the bloody accounting for an entire _enclave_!" she hissed at them.

"And as tempting as the idea of helping you remake an entire society is, I have no desire to stay in this country forever," added Fon quickly.

"Bah, like I'd want to actually _rule_ this place," said Skull. "However having one of my Elements rule in my stead does sound appealing. If only so I don't have to deal with so much bullshit every time I come here."

He avoided Magical England after the war, and not just because of bad memories. Something about the magical stagnation had lead to the place getting worse, not better even when the Dark Lord was dead and gone.

Skull had a theory that leaving that Horcrux for decades had caused the taint to saturate the leyline crossing under the school, thus infecting most of the UK. Thankfully that taint ended at the water line, because running water was a known deterrent for Bad Things.

It had left the UK a complete No Go zone for every other enclave around, which had caused poverty to rise.

In the end there was another civil war brewing as the ICW kept everyone who didn't have enough sense to leave before the worst hit caged in.

Skull had gladly left it behind because honestly, he didn't owe them a damn thing and his gold had long since been moved out of that country before things deteriorated.

So the idea of taking over the place and actually making it _decent_ again?

Not really that far a stretch so long as he didn't get stuck dealing with all the paperwork. He loathed that stuff.

Skull sighed.

"First things first, we deal with Riddle and Dumbledore, then we plot on how to take over the place and uniting it under a family," he said dramatically. "Then we put some patsies in place to deal with the bureaucratic side of things and keep everything tidy while we get to do the fun stuff."

He had the perfect one too. Percy would probably _love_ handling the day to day matters for him if he worded it right.

* * *

Moody took a long pull of his whiskey.

He hadn't fought that hard in some time, and the look in Black's eyes... he shuddered. He only saw those sort of eyes on the faces of those who had been through hell. The kind of eyes that were usually present on seasoned Aurors who got the worst cases imaginable or had seen unvarnished warfare.

The eyes of a survivor.

Bellatrix's daughter was smart, calling in reinforcements to insure he didn't go on a rampage. Clouds without a proper target to direct their ire were never a pretty thing to face in a fight. And the sheer _power_ he had felt coming off Black... he shuddered.

That was one Cloud he'd rather work _with_ rather than against.

And it seemed he had firmly set himself against Dumbledore...not that he could blame the kid. Albus had lost whatever spine he had after Grindlewald and decades of peace and politics had only withered it away further. He liked to manipulate others to do his dirty work now.

He would have felt sorry for Albus, except he deserved the wake up call. Trying to manipulate a Cloud to fit into a mold like he was doing with this whole Boy-Who-Lived nonsense was idiotic and a guaranteed way to set the Cloud off into a full on Rage.

At least he wouldn't be bored. And he had a good idea on who to ask if he wanted to learn more about Black, as distasteful as being around that slimy bastard made him feel.

 _A few hours later..._

"What?" said Moody in disbelief.

"Black has apparently run afoul of some form of time magic. His mind was sent back by at least fifty years to his seven year old body, so he decided to clean up the mess Albus made with his machinations."

"That...explains more than a bit," conceded Moody.

Time magic was finicky at the best of times when not in a stable time turner, so the idea of Black being sent back to his younger body after living through fifty years? Not that big a stretch. Besides, it explained where his skill with battle magic and fighting came from. And why he had eyes like those.

"How did he convince you that he was telling the truth?" asked Moody finally.

Snape's face went flat in annoyance.

"He revealed the location of my old potion's book and displayed knowledge no one should know. Or if they did, then they never would have said anything because it's the sort of blackmail that one should sit on until you have need of it, not parade it about like an idiot," said Snape sourly. "To say nothing of what he showed me when I used Legilmency on him. No way is he actually fourteen."

"...So boredom won't be an issue then?"

"If you ask politely he might cater some chaos just for you to enjoy," said Snape darkly amused.

When he mentioned having a frustrating meeting with McGonagall, Black had set out several mice in the castle all wearing sprigs of fresh catnip around their neck and then made sure they were directed McGonagall's way. It took them a full week before they were able to get rid of the things and McGonagall was so loopy that it took her three full days before she was able to teach again.

Best. Meeting. Ever. He had plenty of photos for blackmail on the old cat and best of all she had no idea who had the balls to pull that on her!

To say nothing of the endless entertainment asking Lupin if it was "that time of the month" right before the full moons and then using switching charms on his clothes when he wasn't looking. Remus likely knew it was Snape sending him those bottles of Midol or packages of feminine hygiene products, but it was worth it to see the look on the man's face.

At least he wouldn't have to deal with Black on top of Lupin.


	30. Chapter 30

Skull was a bit surprised to get a letter from Renato. Thanks to Skull, the future Sun Arcobaleno was able to afford to go to the unofficial Mafia Academy (it had an "official name" but everyone knew it as the Mafia Academy) without having to take jobs during the summer to pay for tuition and basic living expenses.

Renato had initially balked at the idea of accepting Skull's help, but Skull hadn't given an inch to the other teen.

Out of his Elements, Reborn was the one who was the only one he didn't have regular contact with during the year. Which gave Skull very little chance to help him.

And as a Sky (much as he preferred to ignore the fact he had that as a secondary), it was his job to take care of his Elements and hold the group together.

So he paid for Renato's education and half his living expenses for the school year. It was one of the few ways he could care for his Sun, even if it was indirectly.

Which was why Skull was quite confused to get a letter when he knew that Renato still had the mirror phone he gave him.

However the second he read the contents, his face went completely flat.

"Hey Verde, could you help me with something? It's only a rough prototype until summer comes, but I think you'd be very interested in the applications for it..." said Skull.

"What do you have planned now?" asked Verde.

Skull handed him the letter.

"I want to make an amulet or something easily worn that can hold a Flame charge. Kinda like your weird decoys, but smaller and more permanent."

Verde scanned the contents, before sympathy filled his features. How easily they forgot the pain of separation because they were around Skull often enough that it never fully set in. Renato was the only one left out in the cold and it was starting to affect him.

"I'll help, but how are you going to come up with a permanent version?"

"Talbot. He did say if I was ever interested in alchemy or ring-smithing he'd give me lessons. I bet he'd help if I asked politely. I was thinking a necklace or bracelet made of certain metals that could hold a Flame charge, so that the separation pains don't set in... if it's successful we could easily market them to the other Skies. Though we're going to charge through the nose for it," said Skull.

"I sense a very marketable money making scheme. I want in," said Camellia, practically teleporting to their side.

"Only if we can get a working prototype for it," said Skull absently. "And if this works then I'm making one for each of you personally."

Armed with a new pet project for the year, Verde and Skull quickly got to work. They were so engrossed in what they were doing they almost forgot about the tournament happening this year.

 _A few weeks later..._

Skull was rather bored with the whole tournament already. He knew what to expect and thus wasn't really that interested. The pet project between him and Verde was far more interesting, especially when he unleashed Camellia on the Black Family library's stock of blood runes. Once she learned exactly what it was they were actually attempting to create, she had dove into the books with fervor.

After all, blood runes weren't taught at Hogwarts and she had a rather high affinity for them since they didn't require a wand.

Skull was rather eager to see what the students had come up with for the other schools. Camellia and Blaise had taken over that part, since he was firmly engrossed in his secret project with Verde.

He made a point to let Viktor Krum sit next to him and gave his fellow Snakes a Look that cut off any attempts to ask him Quidditch questions.

Hearing the loud **bang** of fireworks, Skull grinned as they cut off Dumbledore before he had a chance to do anything.

He thoroughly enjoyed the show...it was well worth the monetary bribe and letting Camellia act as judge for who won. It got the students a bit more eager to show off what they could do, magic wise.

Skull made a point to speak in Russian with Viktor, who was pleasantly surprised hearing his native language from the other boy and eagerly delved into what he knew about weather magic.

Skull was rather eager to learn, since he still planned on getting his airship again and having an edge when it came to wind and storms would only help in the long run...never mind the fact he could use a few strong gusts to blow the ship around when he needed to go silent mode, with a strong cloud cover.

* * *

"So what is it that you two have been working on so passionately?" asked Camellia.

Skull looked up from where was carving something. It wasn't pretty, but he hoped it would serve it's purpose. With a few more etchings, Skull leaned back and heard his spine crack rather pointedly. He winced, before doing a few stretches to work out the kinks.

Camellia waited patiently for him to get the kinks out.

"Good timing. We need a test subject to see if the first amulet works."

"Amulet?"

"Hang on... have to activate it first," said Skull.

He picked up a strange piece of jewelry. Closer inspection revealed a staff and sword crossed behind a shield that was left blank. It rested on a chain, and was clearly designed to be worn as a necklace. Skull took his uncovered hand and firmly pricked his thumb on the shield, allowing his blood to fill the hidden tube that lay on the inside of the shield.

Camellia could _feel_ the magic coming off that thing.

So it was only natural she was a bit leery of putting it on. She trusted the idiot though, and when she put it around her neck she blinked in shock.

"What..."

"Ren said he was having trouble coping with the distance and being away from my Sky for too long. So I thought, what if I could make an amulet that could hold someone's Flames and act as protection against spell damage and Flames? Took forever to find the right rune combination and spells, much less the material to create the prototype," said Skull.

"How do you keep it from being taken and used against you?" asked Camellia.

"Prick your thumb against either the staff or the shield," said Skull. "Then it becomes blood locked to you and you alone, and no one can remove it except for you. And there's several spells that prevent it from being taken in the event of compulsion spells or Sky Aura."

Camellia didn't hesitate. She pricked her thumb on the staff and felt all sorts of protective spells and blood runes taking effect. She also felt her Flames mingling with the Cloud and Sky that were present in Skull's contribution. It felt like he was right next to her, giving her a massive hug.

It was ridiculously soothing and she couldn't wait to find out what the perfected amulet would be like.

"So is it working? I kinda want to sent Ren one soon since he's not handling the distance that well."

"It works," said Camellia.

Skull beamed.

"Now to start working on a second one... let me know if you sense anything off about it so I can adjust it before I send a second prototype to Ren," said Skull.

"Are you going to make more?"

"One for each of my Elements. I'm going to see if Talbot can't make a proper amulet since the prototype will only able to hold a charge for a few months from what Verde was able to tell."

"What are you going to do with the prototypes?"

"Have Fon destroy them with his Storm flames. It's too risky leaving something like that lying around once we get a proper set made," said Skull immediately.

"Good," said Camellia briskly.

When he managed to make a second amulet to send to Renato, he got a letter a week later that sounded far better. Clearly it was working, because he wasn't feeling the same anxiety of an Element that was desperately missing his Sky.

However Skull wasn't leaving anything to chance. Circe Zabini had agreed to let Renato stay in one of her chateau in Italy on the free weekends where the other half of the vanishing cabinet would be so Skull could visit from Hogwarts with no one the wiser. That cabinet was discreetly relocated to the Chamber of Secrets, since Skull found a back door that didn't involve visiting the second floor girl's bathroom.

Naturally, that back door was right inside the Slytherin Common room. It was in an out of the way corner that was out of view of the common room, and Snape had a firm "Not My Problem" policy so long as he didn't have to deal with it. Between Camellia and Blaise, no one was likely to notice if he went missing for several hours to check on Renato in Italy.

* * *

 _Renato POV..._

He was not having a good year. Even if he had found his Sky, knew for a fact that Skull can and _would_ charge in head first to protect his Sun from harm or attempts to force him into joining a weaker famiglia, it still sucked that he couldn't be in the same general area as his Sky with any regularity.

He had mostly sent that letter as a way to vent his frustrations without showing weakness to the others. Weakness that would almost certainly get him into more trouble than he wanted to ever deal with.

He honestly didn't expect a grinning Skull to show up, give him a _massive_ hug that nearly made his bones creak from the force behind it (all while wrapping his Sky protectively around him in a comforting way that spoke of family bonds and knowing that Skull saw him firmly like a comrade of sorts), and then wrap up a crudely made necklace that was easily hidden under his usual shirts.

It wasn't until he humored Skull by pricking his thumb on the sword and feeling something latch onto his Flames that he realized what the other teen had done.

Skull had given him a shield against the painful, cloying feeling of other Skies and ease the pain of being away from him for months on end.

Renato could already feel the way his Sun relaxed for the first time in months since the distance between them started to actually _hurt_. And as if that wasn't enough, Skull introduced him to Blaise's mother Circe.

If it wasn't for the fact that Renato would absolutely stand out in the magical school, they would have snuck him into the place for a few days just so he could see it for himself. As it was, Camellia and Verde were already attempting to find a way to help him around the ancient spells so he could visit.

So it was with some annoyance when he felt one of the Vongola sit next to him with a warm smile and a somewhat subtle attempt to try and tempt him into his Sky.

Timoteo Vongola was the heir to his family, but Renato had never been very impressed with him. He had a very bad habit of making rash decisions and not looking properly at the consequences of them beforehand. He also tended to treat his few Guardians as things easily replaced, as if they were merely disposable shields.

He sincerely doubted the almost seventeen year old even _knew_ what a proper Harmony bond was.

"If you're here to try and tempt me with the position of your Sun Guardian, I am obligated to inform you that I'm already claimed."

Part of the school rules was that bonded Guardians...and once it was confirmed they generally wore a minor addition to their uniform or outfits alerting everyone they were claimed to avoid spats...that is, if the Sky didn't promptly arrange for private schooling the second the bond was made...make it very clear they were "off-limits" to the few Skies that attended the school. At least if the Sky in question wasn't already a student, in which case the class schedule and rooming assignments were adjusted accordingly.

"Who said I was looking to make you a Guardian?"

Renato gave him a flat look.

"You're sitting next to a relative neutral party with a Sky no one has seen quite yet and radiating enough Flames to make it clear you need lessons in subtlety. Either you're trying to poach me from an already established bond, or you're trying to lure my Sky into your famiglia. Which is rather ironic considering what he found out about his bloodline by accident."

Ironic in that the Vongola was technically a branch of _his_ bloodline, not the other way around.

Powerful and charismatic Skies did not pop out of nowhere, despite what some people might think. It made far more sense that Giotto was a spare heir to an already established line than a mere nobody just _happening_ to have a strong, pure Flame.

And he really doubted the Vongola would be happy if the truth came out, with how much emphasis they put on their Primo and his generation. Especially since Skull managed to track down several of Giotto's old journals which he'd bet good money on matching several handwriting samples from the ones the Vongola had.

Renato gave the obviously scheming Sky a Look.

"If you came by to irritate or get on my nerves I will not hesitate to inform your mother how utterly you fail at being a proper mafia boss, complete with video evidence and commentary after the fact explaining exactly what you did wrong and how you need retraining," he said flatly.

Timoteo snorted, thinking it was a bluff.

He would only come to realize after his unsubtle attempts to learn who Renato's Sky was and possibly get a meeting that the Sun had not been bluffing in the _least_ when his mother called him in with a less than amused expression for a very long, detailed lecture and threats of extra lessons on how to properly attract possible allies to his side.

On an unrelated note, Renato suddenly found a new calling in life as he received a very nice letter from Daniela with actual praise and tips regarding his video and the comments he made about Timoteo's rather poor skills as a boss, with a minor suggestion that maybe he consider training potential heirs for a living once he was tired of being a hit man.

Trained killers were a dime a dozen, but someone who knew how to navigate the mafia's inner politics _and_ know what not to do without making a bad reputation for themselves was much harder to come by. More importantly it was almost impossible to find any decent tutors in how to become a proper boss that hadn't already signed a long-term contract or had the required neutrality needed for such a position.

Renato was rather thoughtful after reading that letter, which was why he called Skull a few days after getting it to discuss the possibility of trying to become a home tutor for mafia heirs.

It sounded like an interesting long term project, with the occasional hit to disperse any potential boredom that cropped up.

" _It sounds like it would be right up your alley!"_ said Skull enthusiastically. _"In fact, I know the perfect way for you to iron out any kinks... did you know there actually_ was _a magical mafia?"_

Renato blinked.

"Really?"

" _Yeah, apparently the 'official' title was simply Midnight. It was started so that Giotto had someplace to run to if things went really south on the mundane side of things, but turned out to be insanely profitable so they kept it up until a little after his death when the politicians caught on and started trying to get their own cut of things. They quietly went into the background, mostly keeping up the old contracts but hiding in plain sight so most forgot about it...all while ruining the idiots who tried to butt in where they weren't wanted. The laws were slowly repealed because they were 'unnecessary' since obviously the mafia was a 'muggle' thing and thus unworthy of note, while new ones were slowly slipped into place to keep those same laws from ever coming back. The problem was that with all the sentiment against dark magic because of a few idiots and the fact most people had forgotten about it, it slipped into history."_

Renato was fascinated.

" _Sirius mentioned it when he clued us into the fact that the Potters are technically Vongola, which set Blaise looking into it,"_ said Skull. Then he made a face. _"Of course with how things are going, we might have to reinstate the old oaths and everything else, and then set up several patsies so that we can clean up the mess the Ministry and Dumbledore have made of the English enclaves in the past hundred years."_

"Sounds like fun."

" _Which means you could have all sorts of fun setting up a proper system to make the famiglias take us seriously when they find out we're back on top of helping me sort out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing while wandering around the place making a nuisance of myself,"_ said Skull cheerfully. _"After all, helping bring_ back _a famiglia can't be nearly as difficult as training some spoiled or reluctant brat into being a proper boss."_

"True," said Renato, already perking up at the idea. At least with Skull he knew boredom would never, ever be an issue.

And that was before the glorious prank wars were instigated. Camellia and Verde had made sounds of disgust when Renato had joined in on those, all the while showing the two hounds exactly how a 'muggle' made chaos!

The grin on his face at the memory of those sent a few random students and loose Elements running for their lives. It spoke of mass humiliation and horrible memories that took forever to repress with any success, even with a Mist's help.


	31. Chapter 31

Viktor Krum was many things, but easily surprised or amused was not one of them. Until now.

"Mind letting us in? It's bordering bloody freezing out here and I really don't want this to go to waste," said Harry Black, grinning like the devil himself.

Curious, despite the looks his headmaster was giving the teen, Viktor let Black in with his companions, a pair of red haired twins, a teen with green hair, a Chinese teen and of course Black's best best friend...both carrying one side of a very large and curious chest.

The nature of which was quickly revealed when Black opened it up...and nearly every male in the ship had eyes on him.

"Consider this a proper welcome from Hogwarts, courtesy of the students. I've already sent my sister to give the French a proper welcome with some good wine, but I thought you'd appreciate this more."

In the chest was Vodka. Properly made, authentic Russian Vodka. And not the cheap stuff either...these bottles would get one well and truly drunk and cursing the sun by the end of a single bottle.

"If you're trying to poison our champion so that yours has a leg up..." growled Karkaroff.

"The only poisoning you'd have to worry about is alcohol poisoning," deadpanned Black. "Here, just to give you all a show of good faith I'll even pour the first shot. If I don't keel over you'll know it's safe. Besides, I brought enough for everyone, even Mr. Sourpuss."

Viktor snorted at the description of Karkaroff.

As promised, Black poured a healthy shot before throwing it back like a pro. For five full minutes nothing happened.

"So, who's interested in trying to drink me under the table with some real booze, not that crap the sell at the pub in Hogsmeade?" he grinned cockily.

The Durmstrang students all looked at each other, before a shared grin came across their faces. It didn't take long for a drinking party to kick off, or for Black to surprise them all by singing some rather raunchy drinking songs from their homeland in Russian.

" _Let's hear it for Mother Russia!"_ cheered Harry in Russian, which got a rowdy cheer back from the older teens.

* * *

 _In the French carriages..._

" _The boys are certainly getting very rowdy,"_ commented Maxime, who had been given the best two bottles of wine all to herself. Like Skull, Camellia had been quick to prove they weren't poisoned before sharing the rest.

Camellia rolled her eyes.

" _My brother brought in actual Russian vodka and made it clear he intends to share with the Durmstrang boys. He plans to get a large amount of blackmail for later just in case, all in the spirit of good fun,"_ replied Camellia in French.

She had been sent with Luna, Hermione, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot and the three Gryffindor Chasers for one purpose. To make the French girls feel more at home and enjoy themselves with some rather expensive bottles of proper wine. Well, expensive for most... Renato had insisted that if they wanted the quality stuff they had to pay for it, and Camellia had reluctantly agreed on the grounds that he knew more on the subject than she did.

Her idiot brother might be able to avoid liver damage and the resulting hangover thanks to his secondary Sun flames (and wasn't that one of the most annoying cheats ever...though it was right up there with Fon's extremely high alcohol tolerance from being an active Storm) but she never really had the chance to properly drink yet because of her age.

Not that it had ever stopped Skull. He was able to drink any of the adults under the table and then laugh his ass off an hour later after putting said fools into compromising positions for the hell of it and taking multiple blackmail photos no one would be able to get rid of.

Or more specifically he brought Camellia in to help with the "compromising positions" part and then take the pictures because he was usually too busy snickering uncontrollably at the thought of their expressions when they woke up. He could get some pretty impressive screams on recording when they did wake up and realize what they were doing.

Over to the side Luna and Hermione were cheerfully (well Luna was at any rate) chatting with the French girls over beauty tips and how Hermione could hopefully tame her hair so that she could attract Verde. By this point Luna's position as his permanent assistant had been assured (mostly due to lack of morals and a healthy imagination that could supply ideas to the Lightning), but Hermione's own hang-ups and the fact she was very self-aware about her looks (specifically her hair... she had her teeth taken care of already) meant she wasn't confident about having a relationship with one of the smartest people her own age. Never mind that Luna had made it abundantly clear she didn't mind _sharing_ Verde so long as the only other girl in the relationship was Hermione.

Which was where the main problem was. Monogamy wasn't really something that had made headway in the magical society (mostly due to population concerns and the skewed ratio of boys to girls), but in the mundane world having two girlfriends was often highly frowned upon.

At this point Luna was resigned to the fact that she would have to dose the other girl with some high-level Lovegood-style aphrodisiacs before Granger settled down about the idea and joined in. At least she knew Verde had the stamina to keep up with two girls... he had to, in order to be able to run like hell away from any experiments that got loose or keep up with his insane Sky!

Camellia, on the other hand was having a similar issue. She was very much a teenage girl and she had a very attractive fiancee. However due to her upbringing she wasn't that confident about her looks.

Hence why she had been so quick to agree to the ridiculous plan Skull had come up with. Especially since he didn't forget the Hogwarts students. Oh, no.

He had gathered all the upper years fifteen and older and had Dobby deliver several cases of proper booze in the spirit of inter-house unity. And the promise of a hangover potion in the morning, so as to avoid the ire of Pomphrey and the other Heads of House save for Snape who honestly didn't care.

Snape had been suitably bribed with his own bottle of liquor to be the only one patrolling the area where the students were off getting very, very drunk and to deter the other teachers.

He was quite pleased with it. It was an expensive bottle that would almost certainly get him blackout drunk with very few shots.

* * *

Skull was grinning like the idiot he was. Not only was almost everyone suffering a monumental hangover, but he had made some new friends!

He was kind enough to hold back the loud cackling he so wanted to do and instead offered up the second surprise from inside the chest.

One look at the potion bottle and the fact that Viktor had gamely tried it first had cemented him in their good books.

He had not only brought with him good quality vodka, but he was a decent enough bloke to provide something for the almost certain hangover!

Blaise glared at him blearily.

"Was there a point to all this, outside of being a Gryffindor-level idiot?"

"Oi," said George.

"We resemble that remark!" sniped Fred.

"Yeah, I'm planning to reform Midnight, and nothing gets you taken seriously by the underworld than having several high-level contacts across multiple nations," said Skull.

Blaise paused, and looked at him.

"You're seriously going to reform it? I thought you wanted nothing to do with the Ministry?"

"Screw the Ministry, do you have any idea what a bitch and a half it is to get real weapons when you don't have real underworld contacts? It's easier to explain a famiglia wanting some new toys to play with (especially considering Verde's habits) than it is explaining why a stunt biker wants military grade hardware!"

Verde groaned in horror.

"You are _not_ convincing me to make you a tank that has a house in it!"

"Colonello and Lal."

Fon snorted, before openly snickering at that. Verde went from annoyed to somewhat thoughtful.

"Complaint retracted. I demand extra blackmail, especially when Lal or Colonello get jealous and try to steal it from you for their honeymoon."

Fon was outright laughing now.

"Look at the bright side... I'm giving you full permission to arm the hell out of my future home once they steal the tank for a joyride and end up trapped in it until Lal admits she likes him, and I won't give a damn about any complaints about me getting drunk and blowing the shit out of something."

"I knew you were my favorite test subject," smirked Verde. Skull never really cared if one of his experiments blew up in his face so long as he got to enjoy the explosion.

"I don't want to know," said Blaise.

"Would you feel happier being the new leader of England or would you rather be one of the higher ranked leaders of Midnight, specifically the Cloud division?"

"...Let me think about it," said Blaise, looking honestly thoughtful at the idea. "Why not Hermione?"

"She would be better off as head of the legal team, and she still has way too many morals," said Skull immediately.

"So if you're reforming the Midnight Famiglia, what's our primary source of funding going to be?" asked Blaise seriously. If he was going to be part of a family that had gone into hiding for several centuries and acting as one of the Left Hands (hearing Renato was going to be the World's Greatest Hitman had meant having to adjust to new ideas, like sharing the position), then he was going to do it right. He wasn't getting stuck with the paperwork. No way in hell.

"I was thinking import, export and helping people break ties with their underworld roots."

Fon paused hearing that.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's face it, the magicals do somewhat have the market cornered when it comes to setting up new 'legal' identities that can't be traced, and I know there are tons of people ready and willing to retire from the underworld for a discreet place to live. Add in the fact first gens have such a hard time coping with any magical society and that it'll take some time for the fact it's a subculture to properly sink in, and you have a nice, legal niche market."

Blaise looked thoughtful, as did Verde.

"There are plenty of abandoned military bases all over, never mind towns and villages that never quite took off," said Verde.

"Exactly. We go in, do the initial clean up and set up a working system that gives us supplies like potion ingredients, food and other necessities, then make sure it's self running before moving on to the next one. Flame users are technically considered Squibs, so the Statute is upheld, and if we do it correctly and make sure everyone knows that no outsiders are allowed to see the real inner workings without a heavy price to be paid, then that should keep the Vindice off our ass. Add in a few magical alleys and we'd have a niche market that the mafia can't touch but keeps us well funded. As for the illegal trade, well I'm sure Verde can keep us at the cutting edge in new toys and I can help do the import export of magical creatures and new ingredients to grow and harvest," said Skull.

Blaise blinked and actually _looked_ at him.

"You've really thought this out."

"You have thirty years of boredom with nothing better to do and think of new ways of equalizing the status quo for the new bloods, and you'd come up with a few new ideas too. Besides, just because people 'retire' from the underworld doesn't make them any less dangerous and favors can pay big dividends later."

Blaise looked rather pleased to hear that Skull wasn't _entirely_ an idiot. He had actually thought some of it through enough that they could get it mostly up and running again.

Fon and Verde were honestly impressed. This was a side of Skull they had never seen and they were honestly sad they had dismissed him so easily before.

That being said Verde wasn't going to arm people with "house-tanks" as Skull had jokingly called his idea. No way in hell. Even if magic made it very much possible with some insanity to spare.

Lal and Colonello were lucky he was sorta fond of them enough to consider it a hilarious wedding or honeymoon present.

* * *

Fon took one look at Camellia, who had clearly gotten quite a bit of advice from the French girls about dressing up, and smiled.

All while Skull and Verde were quietly taking copious amounts of blackmail photos for when Viper got her memories back. Seeing the miserly Mist as an awkward teenager was a gold mine, especially considering all the dancing around she did with Fon before the curse. She was never living down her awkward dates with the Storm. Ever.

Especially when said photos could be used in lieu of monetary payment.

Fon, being the gentleman he is, gamely took Camellia out on a quiet date far, far away from the Three Broomsticks, Hogshead or Loki-forbid, Madam Puddlefoots.

(Fon had taken _one_ look at the shop that looked like some sort of old woman had thrown up in it and left doilies all over the place with far too many frills and decided he'd rather ask for a quiet picnic in the Forbidden Forest than step one foot in the place. Camellia firmly agreed.)

Skull soon found himself facing another round of out-drinking the Bulgarian and Russian students so far from home in Hogshead. Aberworth was more than happy to shell out the booze since Skull paid up front and cheerfully agreed to prank the living hell out of the man's twin brother.

(Aberworth found it downright hilarious that Skull could not only put high-powered laxatives in Albus' lemon drops, but was "nice" enough to share the pictures of his twin glued to his precious private toilet complete with a toilet paper castle and sentries around him. So much so that he promised one free bottle of low-to-mid level booze for every prank and blackmail photo delivered per visit.)


	32. Chapter 32

It's a rather ironic fact that when the first task rolled around (Skull feeling pretty good since he avoided the headache of being dragged in as Champion a second time around thanks to the wonders of paranoia) it is _Skull_ , not the trained dragon handlers, who immediately noticed a major problem with the eggs.

Namely that when he stuck his hand into the nest, it was far too cold and bordering deadly for the infants inside.

Charlie, who had amusedly allowed him to look at the dragons considering Skull does in fact have a license, is very caught off guard when the teen promptly lights into all the handlers and forces them to check the viability of each clutch.

Some fool hadn't thought to keep the eggs and the mothers together, likely because he didn't want to deal with the dragons trying to charbroil his ass moving the clutch away from them.

It was to some horror and dismay that they learn three eggs are now dead because some idiot was being lazy.

Ironically it is Skull who saves the First Task from disaster, by promptly having replacement 'fake' eggs created on the spot that smell like the real thing and are warm enough that the mothers would be fooled temporarily by them.

Meanwhile the 'waiting' females are quickly relocated into Skull's magical sanctuary once he finally figured out how to communicate with the animals.

Feng-Huang and dragons have a deeper relationship than just being mere _symbols_ of the Chinese royalty, and fortunately one of the females brought was a Chinese Fireball. The two of them were able to get something close to a working discussion between wizards and the dragons.

With the agreement that the nests wouldn't be moved from the case (and Skull agreeing to move them to actual sanctuaries once the eggs had hatched, since they were too cold to be moved internationally twice) and the two other females allowed to keep watch and the clutches warm, the handlers found they had a much easier time moving the dragons into position.

Skull was more interested in the dragons and making sure they were comfortable than the task and thus missed most of it beyond making sure the dragons settled in comfortably in their shared enclosure.

They would be there for a few months, after all, and it was close enough to the basilisk cave that people would avoid their area on principle. Well, everyone save for Scamander, who arrived less than a week later to confirm for the Ministry that Skull was able to properly care for nesting mothers and their still recovering clutch. The twins were beyond happy that Charlie would be sticking around as the 'adviser/mentor' for Skull's ongoing project.

If he could handle this mess, then he would have earned the right to keep dragons full time in his case so long as they never escaped in the school or surrounding area.

* * *

The first words out of Renato's mouth set the tone of their weekend visits.

"Have you heard rumors of an old famiglia rising out of the ashes like some demented phoenix?"

"..."

Skull and the others shared a look.

"What's the name?" asked Fon.

"Something ridiculous like Midnight or something. The Vongola are in a real tizzy about it because it's one of their oldest allied famiglias and according to their history books has some major ties to the Primo's birth family," said Renato gleefully. "I heard it sparked a major upset because researching what it was lead to the discovery Giotto was adopted and that the current head doesn't actually have a _right_ to wear the rings because there's no real blood relation between the Primo and Secundo. It's gotten a lot of people talking about it."

"Wow, I knew there's be some ripples by bringing back Midnight, but I wasn't expecting people to figure out that tidbit so fast," said Skull, sipping his coffee.

Renato blinked.

"What?"

"Giotto Vongola's birth name was originally Vincent Giotto Potter. He was the third son of the family head at the time and he didn't want to live in the shadow of his older siblings, so he left and went to Italy where he met his Guardians and eventually followed the Potter Tradition of stirring up trouble in the name of being the 'good guys' and changed his name to Vongola, supposedly after the rings."

"Why Italy?" asked Renato, already fascinated. He had a thing for history and math.

"Because his mother was an Italian pure blood who died shortly when he was five due to spell damage and he wanted to try and connect with the woman he only vaguely remembered. When his father and siblings found out he had accidentally started a revolution and were creating a new family, they decided that in a show of support that they'd make their own, thus putting a more constructive use to a lot of favors that were being more or less forgotten about. Next thing you know you have a pair of allied families that are technically the same one, just different branches and a new name. Then some politician tries to dip his hand a bit too much into the money they were making from slightly less than legal trading and they had to quietly fade into the background until they could dissolve a lot of the laws that were making it more hassle than it was worth."

"Why wait so long?"

"Because in the time it took for the idiots who supported those laws to die, the entire reason they were doing it was more or less forgotten and they were too busy being 'legal, law-abiding citizens'," said Skull. "Didn't stop them from completing what they started, but the reasoning behind it was forgotten about by their descendants. That, and it's kinda hard for them to agree to keep supporting the famiglia in question when the 'rightful' head was more or less forcibly made to retire for someone who wasn't even blood related to him."

Renato snorted at that.

"Either way, the Alliance is making a lot of waves about this issue since it was discovered by accident. Apparently the Ottava was pretty pissed with her son because he was the one to let it slip that Giotto and Ricardo weren't even blood related by accident after he found out. So now everyone's worried about how Midnight will react once it's properly reformed considering the original bloodline they were attached to is no longer in charge and is currently hidden."

"Not hidden, just forgotten about. I know _exactly_ where it is or where it will be," said Skull.

Iemitsu Sawada had only recently turned five, and Skull had several eyes on him. While he couldn't stand that narcissistic jackass, Tsuna had been a sweet kid who didn't deserve half of what happened to him in his childhood.

He was still looking for Xanxus' mother, even though the man in question hadn't even been born yet. Xanxus had done right by his cousin, so Skull would do right by him and keep him far, far away from the crappy Ninth generation until he was old enough to join the Varia.

"In any case it's made for some interesting times during lunch," said Renato.

"I bet. Do you want to be in the center of the action or just watch people scramble around like idiots trying to figure out what's going to happen next?"

"Give me the real details, but I'll keep quiet for now," said Renato, eyes glinting with dark amusement.

Even without his memories, Renato could be a monumental asshole who liked to hold information over people.

Skull rubbed his hands together evilly like some old-school cartoon villain.

"Here's the gist of what we're going to do during the summer, since I know that prick will somehow resurrect himself one way or another this year or sometime in the next..."

And really, getting a head-start on bringing Midnight back was just good planning. He never would have considered it if Sirius hadn't mentioned it.

He would have been content to be a drifting Cloud who had the weird luck of also having Sky Flames.

Now that the idea of creating a proper family had set in, he was going to give it his all and create an unofficial sanctuary for those trying to avoid mafia life while staying in the know when it came to rumors and such.

It wasn't that he had anything against the mafia...far from it. It felt like home to him, even if he could do without a fraction of the craziness he had seen.

No, his problem stemmed from the fact there seemed to be an implicit "join us or die painfully" sense if someone was Flame Active and busted for it. Never mind the Vindice, if one went Flame active and someone from the underworld found out you weren't given much of a choice but to become part of it, whether you liked it or not.

People like Lal and Colonello, who were more loyal soldiers than criminals, or worse like Tsuna who had the bad luck of being born into a mafia family and raised in ignorance.

* * *

Fon had a very amused look after a rather odd discussion with Fleur.

"What's so funny?" asked Skull.

"Our more exuberant friend with the gun fetish might have his memories back."

Skull paused, thought that one over before an evil look came onto his face.

"Wait, are you saying..."

"There is a high probability Colonello remembers, but has absolutely no idea that we have our memories too," said Fon smugly.

"On one hand, I'm highly tempted to send Hedwig with a letter or a howler."

"And on the other?" asked Fon, smiling in a way that spoke far too much of his amusement of the matter...and why he got along so well with Reborn.

"I'm imagining all the fun to be had trolling him when Checkerface starts calling us together and seeing the look on his face when he figures out most of us remember and we've been poking fun at him," admitted Skull. "He wasn't around for the beginning of it, he jumped in at the last minute if you recall, so we could have quite a bit of amusement with this until he catches on."

Fon chuckled darkly.

"I sense mischief. You're not going to drag me into this again are you?" asked Verde.

"Fon said there's a high chance Colonello remembers, but he has no idea _we_ do. I'm debating on whether to tell him that he's not alone or make him suffer until he catches on that he's not the only one with memories."

"...I can't believe I'm saying this, which only proves you've managed to infect me with your idiocy...but let him suffer. Luce might pick up on the fact something is wrong if there's a strong united front from the Elements she's supposed to act as the Sky for, especially since it's obvious you were meant to be ours, not her."

Skull beamed at him.

"And that's all the excuse I need to keep the blond sniper out of the loop. That and it gives me the perfect excuse to play the same prank on him a second time where he'll have no warning he's about to get a face full of tentacles...besides, imagine his expression when I ask him to take my 'dog' for a walk or something equally ridiculous only to come face to face with the creatures in my case."

Fon was openly chuckling at that image... the idea of Colonello having a panic attack to meeting Fluffy before being dragged around by a Cerberus was hilarious.

Almost as funny as Renato's reaction to Skull's "pet dog".

Fluffy had practically drenched the Sun in dog slobber, which had Skull howling with laughter for hours.

"So how do you know Colonello might have his memories back?" asked Verde.

"Fleur mentioned one of her male classmates that fit the general description of Colonello, but what caught my attention was the way she spoke of his mysterious lady love, who he claimed was the 'most beautiful woman in the world' and why he wasn't affected by her allure. It didn't take a genius to guess from the limited description she gave of the woman to realize she was talking about Lal," said Fon easily.

Colonello had been in love with Lal for so long that the idea he'd happily join COMSUBIN a bit earlier to hopefully become her co-trainer rather than her student and maybe convince her to marry him this time wasn't that far a stretch. In fact considering his near borderline stalker behavior, it fell right in line with something he'd do.

"So we're agreed then? Trolling the hapless Rain until he gets a clue and figures out we know he has his memories?" asked Verde, pushing up his glasses which had a suspicious gleam to them.

"Best of all he'll never see me coming if I _coincidentally_ run into him. I bet we could freak him out if Renato joined me for the summer and he found us flirting or something," cackled Skull.

Fon and Verde snorted at that. The second Colonello realized who was with the odd wizard, flirting no less, the easier it would be to troll him later if Skull didn't bust himself by accident. It didn't hurt that none of them had ever seen the Cloud without his make-up, piercings and permanent dye in his hair.

If they hadn't already known it was Skull they were dealing with, neither Fon or Verde would have recognized him on the street at all. After all, not a single one of the Arcobaleno had really cared enough about one of the others to delve into their actual past, especially after the curse hit.

"You do realize we're going to be arming the hell out of your ride with cameras and video recording equipment so we can catch Colonello being flustered beyond belief, right?" said Verde.

"Well yeah, how else are we going to blackmail him later?" said Skull as if it were obvious.

Fon snorted in amusement at that. Some things never changed, though he wondered if Skull would actually realize Renato really _was_ interested in him as one of his potential bed mates. The Sun had never really cared much about gender even before the curse hit, nor had he really bothered to care if he was flirting up a girl or a guy.

Considering the limited interaction Skull had with romance, Fon was betting he'd the Cloud would just end up blindsided before he figured out he was in love with someone. Which was rather sad, since Skull was the kindest, most caring person Fon knew.

The Cloud was almost too caring, always putting others before himself.

And Skull wondered why they were all exasperated mother hens when he got one of his _ideas_.


	33. Chapter 33

Skull had to blink twice when Fleur asked him out.

"Uh...what?"

"I said would you like to be my Yule Ball date," she repeated amused.

"Why? I mean I'm obviously well out of whatever league you're in and there are plenty of guys willing to trip over themselves to be your date," said Skull baffled.

He had been planning on skipping the entire thing, to be honest.

"You're not affected by the Allure, you're an actual gentleman, you're not half bad looking once you've been cleaned up properly and I've been told you actually know how to dance without stepping on your partner's feet," she listed. "Besides, from what I've been told by your sister you're a very good conversation partner who won't treat me like some sort of beast simply because I'm part Veela."

More like Camellia had made a point to track Fleur down and suggest her brother. She wanted him to suffer...er, _enjoy_ being the center of attention at the dance. She was already going with Fon, who hadn't hesitated to promptly ask her to be his date.

Verde was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he apparently acquired _two_ girlfriends since Luna finally managed to wear Granger down into the idea of a threesome with him. Not that they were going to _do_ anything until Luna was at LEAST fifteen or older, but it was the principle of the thing.

He had gone an entire lifetime without a proper girlfriend, and now he had two of them thanks to Skull's meddling. He wasn't entirely certain if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Fleur was inwardly frowning, as she realized Camellia wasn't _joking_ about her brother being something of a kicked puppy who was honestly baffled when someone displayed interest in him beyond that of a friend or family member.

Instead she kept up her smile, but didn't come on too strong. She had the feeling she would only push him away if she did and he was honestly one of the better choices in the school.

Skull, once he got over the shock of being asked rather than how it went the first time (relying on Hermione's pity and getting a girl last second...only to be a lackluster date in the end), was able to bounce back quickly.

He was someone who had been through so much that the idea of being caught off guard in a new situation wasn't an option. He had learned the hard way how to adapt quickly to survive.

That being said, he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. All his previous experience came from one night stands, which had cut off rather abruptly thanks to Luce and her leading them to being cursed into toddlers. Any chance of having a real meaningful relationship died after that.

Thank god Camellia and the other girls were more than willing to at least help him look decent. While his hair was and always would be a lost cause, the rest of him cleaned up rather nicely.

Fon and the other boys took pity on him...mostly Blaise when he realized his Sky and best friend had absolutely _no_ idea what one did at a dance. Sure, Skull was an excellent dancer and wouldn't step on Fleur's feet during the first dance, but outside that? He was a fish entirely out of water with no idea how to breath. It was taking a lot just to avoid going into panic mode.

Not for the first time, Blaise cursed the name Albus Dumbledore.

He knew conditioning when he saw it, and anyone with eyes could see Skull had been conditioned into acting as a weapon that wouldn't hesitate to die for his 'cause', even if it was one discreetly implanted by the people around him. He was a warrior that didn't have the first clue how to survive outside of the battlefield, though he had adapted better than some would have.

Most who were put under the amount of conditioning Skull had didn't survive the battle they were being prepared for. Skull's Cloud Flames had barely managed to get him away from the caustic environment before it killed him. It might have taken years, but he would have died by the inches.

So Blaise was patient. He explained what one generally did at a semi-formal ball among peers because he knew all too well Skull had never once gotten the training most heirs were almost required to get.

Skull seemed to relax, having a general guideline to go by. It wasn't like he hid the fact he didn't have the best childhood growing up, and by now most of the Slytherins were aware that while he was one of the strongest, most cunning Snakes in the school, he was also the most vulnerable if one were to get past his shields.

All it would take would be for one single wrong move and he would shatter like glass. It was why no one dared comment on the fact he was often found snoring on his sister's lap or why his inner circle were exceptionally protective of him.

It was almost instinct, to protect him. Only those who genuinely believed the nonsense Dumbledore or Riddle gave off would actually side with them at this point. Everyone else looked to Skull, and if that meant keeping his vulnerable side from the Enemy, then so be it.

Hufflepuffs could claim they had the monopoly on loyalty all they wanted...but when it came to protecting their own from outsiders, Slytherins had them beat. Even if was purely out of selfish self-interest.

* * *

Camellia had the patience of a saint, Skull decided. Though whether that would survive when her memories came back was up for debate. Viper had been the nicest one to him, but that hadn't made her easy to live with.

"Stop fidgeting. You've managed to secure a proper date, and Blaise has beaten the basic protocols for a semi-formal ball into your head by this point. You're as ready as you're going to get considering how you act, so sit still," scolded Camellia.

Skull tried, he honestly did.

"You look really nice," he commented.

"Considering half of it is illusion, I should hope so. Thank Loki we don't have to conform to the positively archaic fashion sense of the magical enclaves," said Camellia.

Fon had in fact managed to get her a very attractive Chinese-style dress that suited her budding figure perfectly. And while she kept her hair somewhat short (it went down to the nape of her neck and that was it), she was still able to style it up to go with the hair ornament that had gone with the dress. That, plus the fact she was able to raid the Black ancestral home for some forgotten or ancient jewelry that she planned to keep later, meant she was appropriately dolled up for the ball.

Fon had mostly ordered a more formal version of his preferred uniform. Since his status as Skull's Storm Guardian had been confirmed, he was allowed to wear the Cloud's family crest next to his own, indicating his status to anyone who knew what it meant.

It basically stated in a subtle fashion that he was already claimed as a Storm and as a potential husband.

Something he was exceptionally pleased with, because he hadn't exactly _enjoyed_ puberty as a budding Storm flame the first time around.

Until he had gotten strong enough to make even the heavy hitters back the hell off, the Triads would try to draw him into their groups like clockwork. Never mind the sheer number of marriage proposals from women who simply didn't interest him in the least.

This time though... this time he had a fiancee he knew could stand by his side as an equal, an oddball Sky who was ridiculously caring and protective but didn't need him to hold his hand in a fight, and friends he could trust to have his back at any given moment that wouldn't hesitate to throw the first punch if he needed help without being condescending about it.

Okay Renato was and always would be a toss up, but that was just something he expected out of the Sun to begin with.

And Verde wasn't much better. He could easily remember how _alone_ he had felt growing up the first time. How he had always been targeted for his genius or how the mafia expected a proper Lightning to act.

Quite a few famiglias were less than pleased when they discovered Verde wasn't about to act as a shield between them and an enemy simply because he was a damn Lightning. He had better things to do with his time and being an attention seeking moron like everyone expected was not one of them. And the less said about the sheer level of bitching he had to deal with for his experiments (mainly the cost), the better.

Verde was very pleased with the fact Skull had Sky Flames strong enough to bond with. Not only did the Cloud allow him to do his own thing, but he never put pressure on Verde to take the hits for him.

If anything Skull had the worst habit of doing that himself and bouncing right back.

And if it rested on the shoulders of his poor Guardians (who were all developing gray hairs dealing with their damaged Sky) to keep the idiot alive while he jumped into the most _ridiculous_ of situations purely on a whim or some bizarre chance, well it was a small price to pay.

Skull fidgeted again, and Camellia wrote it off as a lost cause.

"I'm sure Fleur won't mind us sitting next to you once the first dance is over. We are more than just your Elements, we are your _family_ so you should damn well learn to lean on us when you're feeling out of sorts," she said firmly, lightly swatting him on the head.

Oddly that seemed to comfort the Cloud, just a bit.

Unlike before, this time his second family wasn't indirectly pressuring him to follow Dumbledore or marry a girl who could have been his mother's double in both looks and from what he was told, personality.

(He had refused to marry Ginny the first time due to the sheer "ick" factor when he compared the pictures after the war and making that horrifying revelation. He was not into indirect incest with his mother, thank you very much.)

No, unlike the Weasleys and the others he had come to think of as family, he trusted the Arcobaleno to pull him out when he was in over his head and sinking fast. Even if they were clearly exasperated at having to save his sorry hide, they never pressured him into being something he simply wasn't.

"Better?" asked Camellia, smiling softly.

"A little, yeah," he said nervously.

"You will be fine brother," said Camellia soothingly.

That was the thing about Skull. For all he pretended he liked attention, when it came down to it he absolutely _loathed_ it. He was downright skittish if he didn't have something to distract him with, like a dangerous task or monster to defeat.

It only made Camellia and a number of other people curse the name Albus Dumbledore and Dursley even more for their dreadful mismanagement of their Sky. Skull should have _never_ have been trained to act as a Lightning in the first place and the idiocy of the magical enclaves had only made things worse.

He was acting like a Cloud should, but there were still far too many trademark behavior patterns for a mafia-raised Lightning for their comfort.

Once they were downstairs, Skull cast aside his nervousness and made a much better showing. This was his "Gryffindor-Face" as Camellia had privately come to call it. The mask that showed everyone the "fool" that they expected to see, not the shy, gentle soul that he was underneath.

Skull was honestly much better off in Slytherin. While there was a lot of political back stabbing if you didn't stand your ground, they at least didn't push their housemates into ridiculous adventures more likely to get them all killed in horrific ways purely to make themselves look brave and noble.

A snake had better ways of disposing of unwanted housemates without having to draw so much attention.

Fleur looked him over, and made a show of open approval. Though not as much as the fact that Fon widened his eyes considerably, before beaming at his date when he registered who the rather pretty witch was next to Skull.

The Chinese Storm always knew Viper was hiding a real beauty underneath that hood of hers.

Verde...just looked confused and a tad jealous seeing Hermione with Krum, even if it was only temporary. They weren't exclusive and everyone knew that Luna had first "dibs" on the oddball Ravenclaw with green hair of all things, but it still rankled him for reasons he had great trouble understanding.

Skull and Fleur were easily the most coordinated couple on the dance floor, though he did wince with sympathy at the way Hermione had apparently gotten the dance partner who had a bad habit of having two left feet on the ground.

Skull was only good at dancing because after the war he needed a way to get rid of all his restless energy without doing something that would tempt him to violence...dancing ended up being that outlet.

On an unrelated note, Skull was the second most skilled at hand to hand combat next to Fon in the Arcobaleno because he had the mistaken belief that channeling his energy into martial arts would help.

It didn't...it just made his accidental response to being surprised or touched without permission that much more violent without magic.

As a very surprised Colonello (and highly amused/disturbed Fon who had seen the whole thing happen in front of him) found out the hard way. Lal had promptly used the fact Skull had put her idiot student flat on his ass when he surprised him as an excuse to kick Colonello around for a full two weeks.

Verde sat next to Skull with a slight huff, with Camellia taking the other spot across from him. Luna hummed cheerfully to herself, looking very outlandish but pleased.

"I would say you're having girlfriend troubles, but at least you had the sense to let her figure out for herself if she's ready to properly go into this threesome," said Skull dryly.

Verde glared at him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Verde, think about your behavior from a scientific standpoint, then talk," replied Camellia.

Verde blinked, thought it over then made a face.

"I am not jealous."

Skull kept his amusement silent. Until he realized Verde was just as confused about romantic relationships as he was.

"She's only fifteen, still insecure about her looks and Luna asked you first. It's only natural she'd want to try the waters a bit for now. Just remember to keep quiet about it if and when she comes back," said Skull with sympathy.

"If you genuinely care about someone, let them go to make their own decisions?" said Verde.

"Exactly. Luna is fine being with you because the other pure bloods can be idiots, but Hermione is still getting used to the magical subculture and is struggling with civilian values and morals, several of which claim that being in a relationship with another female is wrong, to say nothing of a proper threesome," said Skull.

Verde's annoyed face said volumes. He had to keep reminding himself that Hermione was born and raised a _civilian_ and thus would almost certainly react badly to the underworld.

Luna was very open minded in that regard and had some loose morals, and thus had secured the rather dubious position of being his permanent assistant and almost certain girlfriend and possible wife despite being a few years younger than him.

Besides, she absolutely adored him for somehow recreating a Crumple Horned Snorkack as her own personal box weapon. No way was she letting him go after he gave her that for her birthday!

Skull slowly, but surely relaxed as he managed to chat with Fleur over French magical culture and music.

All in all it was a far more enjoyable Yule Ball than the one he suffered with previously. He would have been the first to admit he had been a very poor date.

Hermione at least seemed happy for the moment, though the looks Verde kept shooting her were signs of the impending apocalypse.

Either they'd work it out on their own, break up, or there would be something of an explosion on Hermione's side.

Verde preferred not to display any Lightning-tendencies when he could help it and had a rather disturbing habit of taking out his bad mood on his living experiments. He was more liable to sulk and run his test subjects into the ground than actually confront Hermione, if she even picked up on the tension.

Considering she was only marginally better than Ron when it came to picking up on emotions and had a very black and white view, Skull could only say it would end in many, many tears on her part if she didn't take this the right way.

Meh, teenagers. A bundle of unstable hormones really.


	34. Chapter 34

Skull was eagerly anticipating this. He had allowed Hagrid in for one reason and one reason only... that the half-giant was made very, very well aware he was not allowed to appropriate any of the eggs for himself.

Charlie was there to make very sure of that, as was Fon who had mostly come for the Chinese Fireball to assure himself that the hatching happened successfully.

Quite a few had come to witness the hatching, most were doing so on a temporary observation deck Skull had installed that was armed with mirrors to capture the action without upsetting the dragons. Only a handful were allowed in the actual enclosure and he had to spell the basilisk cave with multiple wards to ensure there were no accidents.

"This is always so exciting!" said Newt with glee. He was so pleased that Harry Black had given him enough warning to witness this first hand. He loved hatchings.

"I know! It's such a pity the Ministry is so uptight that they won't allow even a small breeding pair of dragons to live near the school so that the student trying to become dragon tamers can get work experience! I mean most of the headaches to get this suitcase allowed were waived because of the gold and my fame, but it was still far too much red tape!" said Skull enthusiastically.

Charlie paused at that.

"You know that idea might have some real merit. A breeding pair of the smaller, more manageable dragons should be perfectly acceptable to help train dragon tamers for their future careers and I know my boss would be all for having slightly more experienced help. And it would mean Hagrid could reclaim Norberta since he wouldn't _technically_ be owning the dragoness in question, just caring for it in between extracurricular classes," mused Charlie.

Hagrid openly perked up at that.

Skull looked at Newt and Charlie.

"Anyone else up for convincing the board to potentially let Hogwarts own a pair of breeding dragons in the name of allowing Hagrid to have his girl back?" he asked amused, eyes glinting.

Hagrid might be Dumbledore's Lightning (or the closest the man would get to one), but he was still the first friend Skull had ever made in the magical enclaves and a good friend. He was not above bribing a few people so Hagrid could have his dragon back, even if he wouldn't technically be owning one.

Skull liked to take good care of his friends.

Seeing the glee in Newt's eyes (likely at the chaos such a thing would bring...the man was a bit of a prankster) and the amusement in Charlie's (he had the twins for brothers...clearly he would have picked some form of chaos up if only by exposure) and the misty expression on Hagrid's face, Skull beamed at them all.

Then their attention was firmly on the sound of a shell cracking open.

It took every ounce of control for Skull _not_ to scoop up the little dragonet and cuddle with it. Something he was highly entertained to note was the same for Charlie, Hagrid and Newt. Mostly Newt.

He was very glad he had the foresight to silence the viewing platforms, because he was certain there was a multitude of cameras going off and that would disturb the mothers.

Once the hatching was over with, and the extras more or less politely removed (Skull had given several tours with Fon and Camellia's help, so they couldn't claim they wanted to see one of the animals again as an excuse to linger longer) Charlie and Newt stuck around to give all of his charges a proper examination.

He busied himself by fussing over Sally the Basilisk (Salazar Slytherin was apparently _really_ unimaginative about names) and making sure the poor thing hadn't been upset by the hatching event and the number of humans so close to her den.

She certainly preferred the case to the drafty, wet and positively miserable area Salazar had stuck her in for a thousand years. And while she might not leave it much, at least it wasn't cold which she hated.

Once assured his pet snake was fine, and that Edward the cobra that he acquired by accident from Gringotts was suitably fussed over as well (the two had bonded and it wasn't an uncommon sight to see the smaller snake curled on top of the cave), Skull meandered over to the dragon enclosure.

"Well? How are the mothers and hatchlings doing?"

"Well. Better than my bosses could have expected actually... I've never seen mothering dragons this well cared for by someone who hasn't had years of experience," said Charlie.

"They seem to have settled in quite nicely. Do you have any sanctuaries in mind for later when the year ends?" asked Newt with interest.

"The Chinese Fireball and her brood are going directly to the Imperial Sanctuary. Fon's already made a few arrangements regarding that and they don't harvest from freshly killed dragons for potion ingredients...only those that die of old age," said Skull.

Newt looked rather approving of the idea.

"The Short Snout is going to a Welsh sanctuary... I've received word that two of their breeding mothers have died from old age and they need the fresh bloodlines to keep the current ones from stagnating. The Horntail is a toss up...she's the most temperamental of the lot but her eggs can be transferred to a different sanctuary that needs the fresh blood where I know they'll be treated well."

Charlie winced at the mention of the Horntail. She had done the most damage of the three and was easily the most vicious... this was the most well behaved he'd seen her act around humans in all honesty.

"Any idea why she hates humans so much?" Charlie asked. The Short Snout came from his sanctuary, but they had acquired the Horntail from one that had a large number of vicious and unmanageable breeds.

"She said that the area she was kept in did a lot of turnover when it came to dragons. The handlers treated them like vicious beasts to be culled and they responded accordingly. Regardless of what happens to her brood I am not returning her to that area. I think someone needs to do a proper inspection of the dragons there and go over their records to see if they're doing some illegal trading on the side," said Skull flatly.

Newt's face went hard at that. He despised black market trading of magical beasts and was well known for breaking more than a few of those places down with extreme prejudice.

It was part of the reason he was so quick to sponsor Skull's license... Skull had been equally vicious the second he saw animals being hurt for profit.

"She actually seems fairly comfortable here," said Charlie, eyeing the female.

"Yes, well that might be because I've given her full permission to roast anyone stupid enough to wander into her enclosure without a proper escort. I post signs and a house elf as a guard for a reason you know," said Skull.

Charlie thought he was joking, until he realized Newt wasn't laughing.

"Wait. You're serious about that?"

"Of course I'm not Sirius! Do I look like that wash-up mutt?" said Skull promptly, causing the older wizards to groan at the pun. "And if they're stupid enough to ignore the damn signs after breaking in, then it's their own damn fault for getting eaten, killed or roasted by an irate animal that doesn't like people."

He pointed to the signs in questions.

Charlie read each of them with increasing amusement and disbelief.

 _Here there be dragons. Seriously, get lost or be roasted._

 _No, really, this is their spot and they will roast and possibly eat you._

 _There is a bucket of ketchup over the entrance and dragons find humans very tasty when drenched in it, if a bit crunchy and loud._

 _Last warning. Enter at your own risk, because I am not paying the lawyers to deal with your idiotic plan to remove yourself from the gene pool._

"Snape helped me come up with that last one... after he was through laughing his ass off at the positively Slytherin way I was going about warning people not to go into a dangerous area without proper warning like a Gryffindor. No Offense."

"None taken," snickered Charlie.

The signs made it clear that continuing on to see the dragons was a Bad Idea, and that Skull would not be responsible if they ended up dead.

There were similar ones around the basilisk cave, though they came with the helpful warning that if one couldn't understand the cobra that generally slept right outside that area, then they were asking to be killed by the basilisk in the cave. She would only filter her deadly gaze around parselmouths, as part of the spellwork placed on her by Salazar Slytherin.

Newt had found it all very amusing, mostly because it implied Skull was aware that a house elf was hardly a deterrent for idiots. And by putting up clear signs, all spelled to read in whatever language the reader was most fluent with and would understand clearly (clever bit of spell work there, thank you Hermione) he mitigated most of the whining that came from irate families down a member from stupidity.

Skull wasn't going to go out of his way to "idiot-proof" his case. He was going to make the danger very, very clear and then wash his hands of the matter. If someone died due to their own stupidity and inability to understand actions have consequences, then it wasn't his problem outside of cleaning out the inevitable mess left behind by irate creatures.

Such people were doomed to removed themselves from the collective gene pool eventually... at least he was considerate enough to alert their families to their demise and even arrange for their remains to be transported if they were foolish enough to break into his case and ignore all the warnings he posted for a reason.

Again, Newt found Skull endlessly entertaining and his new protege in the area of creature conservation and observation. Skull already had a book he was planning to publish concerning phoenixes he wrote out of boredom during his rather copious amount of free time since he found his homework far too easy.

His book on the fact the magical enclaves was basically a subculture living aside the "mundane" one was already a best seller and had quickly become required reading for all students. It explained in detail the differences between the magical enclaves and the mundane world, and how they weren't so different...while offering several little side notes about why there were subtle differences that made it a bit difficult for one side to properly understand certain references.

So what if he used his new nom de plume Midnight Marauder to write it? It just meant people were more inclined to take it seriously because of his articles in the Prophet!

Skull was mostly oblivious to the very serious discussion between Charlie and Newt, who had come for more than one reason to the hatching.

Namely they were doing an assessment on Harry Black's ability to handle mother dragons during one of the most dangerous times to be around them.

They were most restless and agitated during a hatching, or before a mating.

Skull had been calm and collected and allowed things to happen naturally. He hadn't even thought of jumping in to 'assist' the dragonets out of their shell, and instead took the role of the male dragon which was provide small tidbits of food for the females to share with their newly hatched offspring.

Rabbits, chickens and other small prey were sacrificed in the name of feeding some very hungry infants, who all bonded with their mothers correctly and quickly associated Skull with good things like food.

"What do you think?" asked Charlie.

"I think he has a better handle on dangerous animals than I did at that age, and is far more mature than most wizards I've met. That Horntail gave us the evil eye from the second she saw us, but she didn't even react to him being so close to her infants. I dare say he has a knack for magical creatures."

"I still can't believe he has that odd phoenix doing translations between him and the mothers of all things. And how on earth did he convince Fawkes to stay here and avoid the headmaster?"

Most of the guests had thought Fawkes was only there for the hatching and to keep everything calm. Quite a few had been surprised by Lark, but had dismissed him as one of Skull's magical creatures since he only let a select few get a close enough look at him.

However Charlie had been in and out of the case often enough to know that Fawkes was staying there full time... he had been the one to illuminate Dumbledore on the location of the phoenix by complete accident.

He had been most befuddled when he realized that Skull hadn't done anything to keep Fawkes with him... the bird was naturally avoiding Dumbledore for his own reasons and had made his opinion known. Newt had been the one to confirm there were no spells on the bird to keep him near the Slytherin when the old wizard asked about it.

And Lark made no bones that he barely tolerated the other bird's presence in _his_ territory. Skull was his bonded, not that overgrown self-roasting turkey.

"So we're agreed then?"

"After that showing I dare say he could easily handle a cranky dragon," agreed Newt.

Skull had the proper amount of respect towards magical creatures and was more reasonably cautious than actually afraid of them. He kept a firm eye on the fangs, talons and other dangers, while still maintaining a calm demeanor without setting them off.

It reminded Newt quite a bit of himself after he graduated, actually. Though he would openly admit the boy had far more friends willing to humor him than he had.

Even if it had originally been a little difficult to look at Camellia and not see her great-grandmother Leta. It was much easier after the accident, to his shame...she looked more like a Black with Potter heritage than a Lestrange.

If Skull was surprised when Charlie officially upgraded his license to a full one (which meant he was legally allowed to care for the dragons on his own once the year was over), he said nothing.

It wasn't like it mattered to him much anyway.

(On an unrelated note he ended up keeping the Horntail, once all the others were removed. She made it clear she barely tolerated anyone else, but was willing to accept his presence and care above all others and would make such a fuss if she was relocated too far away from him. He found this slightly ironic considering the grief she had given him the first time around.)


	35. Chapter 35

Blaise, once he got over the initial grimace of exasperation learning that Skull could now _legally_ keep the Horntail in his case (having that many dangerous magical creatures so close to his bed was not doing well for his mellow...he really wished he was a Rain and not a Cloud), was able to get over his reaction with the usual reminder of keeping the more vicious creatures far, far away from _him_.

Hagrid was almost beside himself learning that the board of governors were seriously considering allowing a pair of breeding dragons (specifically the Norwegian Ridgeback which meant he could have Noberta back along with her mate) so long as certain requirements were kept.

Skull would have to make sure that those requirements were almost religiously upheld by the half-giant...he had a bad habit of forgetting that not all students were as durable as he was to damage.

Which was why Remus was seriously considering a permanent position as the COMC teacher, if only so Hagrid was kept in an assistant role and in charge of caring for the animals.

He was a good man, just highly forgetful and loved the more dangerous types of animals a bit too much to be healthy for anyone.

Business went on as usual... at least until the second task.

Skull honestly had to blink a bit when he registered he had just been kidnapped by an overly eager Death Eater trying to resurrect Riddle.

He peered at the face for a moment before he realized who he was dealing with and rolled his eyes.

"Really Dolohov, you can't _possibly_ think this is going to end well for anyone, especially you. Never mind what your precious Dark Lord will do once he's back, you should have remembered the demonstration I made of that fool Pettigrew," said Skull, shaking his head sadly at the sheer idiocy of some people. "One would almost think you were a _Gryffindor_ with this level of intelligence."

"Silence, Black! Your contribution will make way for our Lord's return!" snapped Dolohov.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just hope you enjoy his reaction to what I'm going to do once these ridiculous chains are removed," said Skull sarcastically.

Honestly, some people had no brains to speak of. So what if the idiot had his wand? That was little more than a polished stick he kept around so people didn't ask where his real one was.

No one ever suspected the metal ring on his finger to be his actual focus, or that it held wand wood and a bit of blood to act as the core. Far more reliable than a simple wand which could be snapped during a fight and render the wizard helpless.

Far easier to hide too... his current focus was current being used as a toe ring and was safely hidden inside his shoe. No one ever inspected those and he just needed to focus a bit more to get the spells down.

Skull was positively _bored_ watching Voldemort resurrect himself. Like he hadn't seen this shit coming... oh wait, he had, just not this damn early! Clearly Dolohov was a bit more proactive than Peter ever was.

Not really in the mood to trade barbs, instead he said something that had the idiot sweating bullets.

"You know I read this ritual works better if the servant doing the sacrificing uses something other than their limbs," he commented.

Voldemort paused in his obligatory "evil villain" speech to actually look at him seriously. Then again, even he had heard that "Harry Potter" was more of a Black by this point.

"How so?"

"Well according to one of the Black family rituals, you would have gotten a much bigger boost from the potion if he had sacrificed something a bit more important. Especially his ability to actually procreate. It wouldn't have to be his actual 'wand'... his balls would have been perfectly acceptable. I guess he wasn't _that_ devoted to bringing you back with a little something extra, if all he gave up was a hand," said Skull with a perfectly straight face and serious expression.

Dolohov was sweating bullets, clearly not anticipating this sort of reaction...especially considering the displeased look on his Lord's face.

Skull was too busy trying _not_ to blow the fact he was spouting complete bullshit by laughing his ass off. Arcturus would be proud and Sirius was almost certain to get a good laugh...once he got over the initial panic attack about his godson being kidnapped in the first place.

Voldemort looked at his loyal follower annoyed.

"You and I will be having words about your dedication level," he promised darkly. Dolohov whimpered hearing that.

Seeing all the Death Eaters that were foolish enough to answer his call (Skull made a note of who for later...he would already be warning their children that he was open to the idea of removing them from the country in case the Dark Lord attempted to build the numbers back up using them as his new slaves) Skull grinned.

They were so boned it wasn't even funny.

"Now then Black, I should hope you at least know how to duel."

"I will be making house calls later," said Skull to the idiots who actually fell for Voldemort's bullshit.

He had _plans_ for anyone stupid enough to side with Voldemort this go around. Screw waiting for the Order to do their damn job...he was going to make their lives hell until they came begging for his almost nonexistent mercy.

"Shall we dance fucker?" said Skull with an evil grin.

This was going to be _fun_.

* * *

"Where the bloody hell were you?" demanded Blaise.

"Gather all the Slytherins and those associated with the 'loyal' Death Eaters who didn't have the sense to take the out when it was presented to them. Oh, and alert Sirius and the others that Midnight is going to go into active status by next month at the earliest," said Skull promptly.

Blaise didn't ask stupid questions or make demands. This wasn't Cloud Skull he was dealing with... this was a Sky who was very annoyed at his territory being infringed upon and all too willing to remove the 'problem' before it got out of hand.

Camellia was at his side within moments, as was Fon and Verde.

"So we're going to become official next month then," asked Fon almost conversationally. One would mistake him for being calm if they couldn't detect the undercurrent of barely contained bloodlust coming from him.

"I wasn't expecting it to happen this early, but the fool who kidnapped me is going to be very unhappy thanks to a minor bit of misdirection I gave regarding the ritual used," said Skull grinning evilly in a way that would have made even Reborn proud.

"Oh gods, what did you do this time?" demanded Blaise.

"I may or may not have insinuated that there would have been a power boost given if the 'loyal servant' doing the sacrificing had used something other than his hand as the ingredient."

Verde was the first to catch on.

"You are an evil, vindictive asshole when you put your mind to it. Did he actually believe that tripe?"

Fon and Blaise blinked, before they caught on as well and winced slightly at the implications.

"I would definitely say yes, because Riddle said he would be having 'words' about the idiot's dedication level if all he was willing to give up was a hand," said Skull grinning maliciously.

Reborn wasn't the only asshole in the Arcobaleno, just the most obvious one.

"Evil, but definitely an appropriate level of payback," said Blaise with approval.

"I bet old Arcturus is rolling in his grave laughing his ass off that the lie worked," said Skull grinning.

"Almost certainly," agreed Camellia grinning.

"So officially what is going to be Midnight's main source of income?" asked Blaise.

"Officially we're going into import and export of magical creatures, ingredients, food and other basic necessities for the underworld."

"And unofficially?" asked Blaise. This was the mafia they were talking about after all.

"Unofficially we're relocation/retirement specialists. We'll take people ready to transition out of an active role in the underworld and give them new identities and homes in exchange for a subtle role in our organization, such as helping with the farms or the security around the villages and towns. They'll also double as an informant network if we do this right and the favors they'll owe us for giving them a chance to live out the rest of their lives a bit more peacefully will come in handy long term. Add in the misplaced first gens or half-bloods who never quite fit into the magical subculture or are too out of date to live in the mundane side of things, and we'll have a loyal support network to work with. All we need is to get everyone to sign secrecy contracts to keep the Ministries and the Vindice off our ass, and we'll be in business."

"It sounds exhausting."

"Not really. There are countless army bases, towns and villages more or less abandoned all over the world for various reasons. We go in, figure out the actual problem and determine if it's a worthwhile endeavor to fix it and make it habitable again. The real trick is buying up the land without anyone noticing," said Verde, pushing up his glasses.

Skull grinned at that.

"I have an idea about how to deal with the British side of things at least."

"Why do I have the awful feeling you are going to do something so ridiculously insane that it'll drive all of us to drink after the fact?" asked Camellia, pinching her nose.

"I plan to kidnap the Queen of England and give her a chance to blow up a Death Eater's manor. A sort of 'fuck you' towards their bullshit and give her a chance to make a personal strike against the idiots harming her people," said Skull shrugging.

Blaise didn't even think. He grabbed Skull by the collar with a dark expression in his eyes.

"Don't. You. Bloody. Well. Dare," he hissed. "Your regular hijinks are bad enough, we don't need to add kidnapping a sitting regent on top of things!"

"You kidding? I fully plan to kidnap the Emperor for a bit of fun at blowing up a few minor Chinese Military bases!"

Fon was the one who made the face now.

"Dear gods, you're getting _worse_. I didn't think it was possible."

"Oh please, like you aren't equally eager to join in on that particular bit of fun," said Skull grinning.

"I think it's stress. He gets worse the more stressed he is, trying to compensate for his inability to process things," commented Camellia with concern.

She had the feeling she was right in that regard with the way Skull leaned into her side when she gave him a one-armed hug.

Fon shared a look with his betrothed.

Camellia nodded, and the Storm promptly abducted Skull for a bit of sparring practice. Camellia went and got some strong booze, which seemed to be their standard protocol for this sort of situation.

Fon would wear him down and then they would get him drunk enough to vent without realizing it.

Even if it didn't help in deterring him when he came up with his crazy schemes, at least he wasn't bottling everything up inside like he did before.

Blaise patiently waited for Verde to give him a general report once Skull was safely out cold. Fon and Camellia were the usual tag-team to keep Skull calm and actually sleeping.

"Well?"

"He's concerned that Dumbledore might try something once word reaches him about Riddle's return. Considering what he went through last time it's understandable, but foolish. Then again last time his support network was so laughable it couldn't even warrant the title," sniffed Verde. "He also expressed a very valid concern that Riddle will attack Azkaban sometime within the next year, once he gets enough fools to follow him. Shattered or not, the man is still a Sky, however limited his influence has become."

"Which means Camellia will almost certainly have to face her parents soon. That's an almost guarantee not to end well for anyone," said Blaise grimacing.

"Yes, but we highly suspect that when the confrontation _does_ occur, it will cause a reaction to bring Viper out rather than Camellia Potter-Black," said Verde.

In fact Skull was almost positive (though he didn't say as much in front of her) that being forced to confront Bellatrix or her father would result in the Mist Arcobaleno Viper to come back, though she would have a rough time dealing with the inevitable side effects.

Skull had the easiest transition, likely due to his status as Master of Death, or possibly because of how quickly he had learned to adapt as a child. Fon and Verde, however, had to undergo weeks, if not months of trying to sort through the mess before they were even remotely able to handle daily interaction again.

For Viper it was an almost guarantee to be a massive headache, considering there was such a vast difference in how her childhood went thanks to his meddling.

Blaise sighed. The work of a Left Hand was almost never finished, but at least he knew that boredom was firmly off the table. Skull and Boredom simply did not mesh, and he was always getting into trouble.


	36. Chapter 36

**Sorry about the late update folks. Real Life sucks.**

* * *

"What's got you in a foul mood?" asked Skull.

"Hermione found out about house elves and is now all set to 'liberate' them from their oppression," said Verde crossly.

"Oh, right. I forgot about that. Give me a few days and I'll have derailed her so effectively that she'll shut up about it," said Skull.

"Good luck."

"I don't need luck, I have common sense, logic and actual reasoning behind me."

"Dear god, we're doomed!" groaned Verde horrified.

"This I have to see," said Blaise.

"What, me derailing Hermione?"

"No, you using common sense and logic," said Blaise deadpan.

"I get no respect!" bemoaned Skull. "No respect I tell ya!"

Skull promptly cornered Hermione after he had what he needed to make the demonstration. Several of the kitchen elves were all for it when he explained why and how it would keep several of the misinformed first gens from complaining too loudly about their situation while showing how good an elf they were.

"What do you want? Trying to dissuade me from freeing elves?" she said crossly.

"Actually I was going to tell you that while your heart is in the right place, your methodology and planning is only going to get you lynched by the very beings you're attempting to 'help'," said Skull flatly. "Never mind about what the pure bloods would do to you or how it would only ostracize you to everyone else if you were forceful about it."

Hermione glared at him.

"You have exactly ten seconds to explain your reasoning before I hex you to hell and back. And what are you doing here?" demanded Hermione.

"I came to see Harry actually use logic and common sense instead of ignoring it in favor of chaos," said Blaise bluntly. "And I plan to share the memory as evidence since I doubt anyone would believe me otherwise."

Hermione could completely agree to that.

"Let's think this through a simple logical standpoint. You've freed the elves who now have no home, no job and no idea what they're to do with themselves. Case in point, Winky who was disgraced by her longtime master and is now a raging drunk. How do you help them?"

"By getting them new paid employment."

"Ah, but the pure bloods would refuse to pay them on principle, the half-bloods would inevitably follow suit and the new bloods wouldn't be able to maintain one. Just look what they did with the werewolves and centaurs. So you've still got several jobless, miserable elves with no way of sustaining their magic, all of whom will resent you in short order for it."

"That's because they don't know any better...!" started Hermione in an indignant rant.

"Exactly. House elves, by and large, _do not know any better_. They've been _conditioned_ for years to see magicals as their superiors and are perfectly fine with the current climate within reason. It's like taking a soldier straight out of active combat when he's still perfectly healthy and able to fight and shoving him into a civilian role like an officer clerk and expecting him to suddenly transition to a 'normal' life without believing there would be consequences for it."

Hermione's mouth opened and shut at that comparison.

"There is also the fact that at this time, house elves don't _want_ to be freed. They've been conditioned to think that freedom equals disgrace and will punish themselves severely for disobeying their masters, even if it means inflicting harm upon themselves. Trying to shove freedom down their throats is simply going to end in a lot of needless death and pain," said Skull logically.

She reluctantly conceded that point, but was unwilling to back down.

"What would _you_ suggest then?"

"Dobby, could you bring the items I put aside earlier?" asked Skull to no one.

Dobby appeared with four boxes. Two were uniform in size, the third was slightly smaller, and the fourth was more of a square.

"What are these?"

"The _start_ of a solution, if you genuinely want to free the elves. You're so eager to 'rescue' them that you fail to take into account their feelings on the matter. For example what does a house elf want in life? What are their basic needs? How can you improve the _quality_ of that life? What steps can be taken so they're not as oppressed by the older families who see them as disposable servants?" said Skull. "You have a very bad habit of jumping to conclusions and trying to start something big without bothering to look at the long-term consequences or realizing that more often than not you need to take _baby_ steps before you can actually make real changes happen."

"It's called Gryffindor Tunnel Vision," supplied Blaise.

"So what is in the boxes?" asked Hermione.

Skull opened them.

"...Are those girl and boy scout uniforms?" she asked, pinching her nose.

"Something close to it and they're elf-sized. And that's only the beginning. If you genuinely want to go through with this, then I will help you. But only if you agree to take things slow and do the process _right_."

"What's step one then?"

"Step one: convince the pure bloods that a standard for house

elves needs to be in place...and make sure that the bill can't be abused to cause more harm than good. If you can write up a bill that can't be turned on the elves later, I'll see about having it put into effect. And don't bother with Latin... the Queen's English is acceptable."

"I think I can do that," agreed Hermione, her righteous fury starting to die down. "What's step two?"

"Create a standard for house elves that anyone can understand. That includes training, basic uniforms and health care, with the agreement that any elf that does not follow the basic care guidelines can be reassigned without prejudice. If you word things right then the pure bloods won't realize that you're forcing them to treat elves with the same dignity and respect you would a pet," said Skull.

"I'll bite. What's phase three?" asked Blaise, honestly curious.

"Phase three: put the system into effect. Give the house elves something that can be customized to improve their sense of self-worth and give them something they can proudly show to others. Hence the sashes, which can also be made into belts. Elves would have to have a set number of 'patches' to be considered a 'properly trained' elf, such as basic cleaning, cooking, laundry and other mundane chores that mark a good elf. I already asked the kitchen elves and they rather liked the idea of little patches they could proudly wear along with the family crest to identify who's elf they were. Then comes the 'merit' badge system, which can help wizards identify elves with special training like being able to stabilize those who need healing, basic infant and childcare, or even those who can detect poisons and the like aimed against their master. It causes them to actually to earn badges to show what a good elf they are and discreetly encourages independence and improve self-worth," said Skull.

Hermione gaped at him, and Blaise looked at him in disbelief.

"That...is _brilliant_. The scouts use merit badges to increase confidence and instill real-world skills all the time! And with how out of touch the magical society is it's unlikely anyone would cotton on to what it's doing to the elves!"

"By the time you're old enough to have enough clout to actually _do_ something about it, then there's a higher chance they might _want_ freedom or better care. You have to remember, elves are more akin to brownies and don't really need money the way we do," said Skull sensibly. "The patches are discreet enough that they can become proper individuals and still show what a good elf they are, the uniforms make them look professional without being considered 'clothes' which mean disgrace to them, and the pure bloods would simply find the whole thing quaint until everyone dismisses them entirely."

"You are either insane or brilliant," said Blaise. "That being said I intend to watch the fireworks from a safe distance when the pure bloods figure out what you're doing."

"At the very least it would force people to treat elves with better care than some have been doing. Have you _seen_ what the Hogwarts elves wear? A pillowcase does not a proper uniform make!" sniffed Skull.

"And what does Dobby have then?" asked Blaise.

"I gave him a selection of outfits acceptable for his uniform, and give him enough coin to buy special yarn and claim it's for the green houses in my case. I take the plain kind and he gets to play around with knitting, among other things. I now have more socks than I know what to do with," shrugged Skull. "Coincidentally every time I get a particularly...colorful...pair I have Dobby hide them in Snape's personal quarters with a note that's written in Dumbledore's handwriting."

"Oh that is evil. With how Dumbledore dresses he'd easily believe it _was_ from him!" cackled Blaise.

"I have pictures. Camellia has been cackling for weeks every time Dobby brings the new batch," said Skull wickedly.

"And you didn't think to share?" said Blaise.

"I needed _something_ to placate you for giving the twins news that will undoubtedly cause untold chaos and catastrophe."

"Point. Now share them or I'll start hexing."

"You're the one who inspired the twins? What in god's name did you tell them?!" demanded Hermione.

"I told them the real purpose, or lack thereof, of the house cup. And enlightened them to the fact that since their career goals after graduation involved opening a joke shop of their own...their mother is furious at me by the way, for giving them full funding according to Charlie...that _technically_ any pranks they do would fall under the same law that allows me to have Dobby and a case full of dangerous animals," said Skull smugly. "Hard to tell who hates me more at this point, McGonagall or Molly Weasley for encouraging them."

"Why would Mrs. Weasley be so against the twins having a shop?" asked Hermione baffled.

"She wants her children to go into the Ministry. Should have seen the look on her face when we visited after the game and I brought up the fact that it was practically infested with so-called 'former' Death Eaters in the last war, so why in Loki's name would she want any of her children working there within easy reach of their wands or their supporters? Arthur damn near choked when I brought it up, especially when I cheerfully reminded her that as private business owners the twins could trap the hell out of their shop and back in case of a malicious attack and it would all be legal. Never mind that the twins aren't going to be selling _just_ joke products."

"Do I dare ask what else you have in mind?"

"Patches, for one thing," said Skull, shaking the box. "Also anything Verde's devious mind can come up with to bridge the cultural divide between magical and mundanes. At the very least it might make it easier for the younger pure bloods to understand their new blood cousins a bit better. Old bloods are a hit and miss though."

"Old bloods?" said Blaise.

"Anyone Lupin's age or older," said Skull with a straight face. The kind that have more or less set in their ways and habits and would require an act of god or gods to get them to budge. McGonagall would be a strong example of it. That being said I have a foolproof way to convert damn near every single boy in the castle to my side regardless of house status, bloody purity or how their parents feel about me."

"How?"

"Easy. I'll introduce a battlefield simulator with realistic conditions and slowly teach them what muggles are capable of in a safe setting."

(Later that week Hermione found out what he meant by that. Skull had introduce _Halo_ and a few other graphic and highly violent video games to the boys and they were hooked once they got the hang of it. Even if they were just button mashing.)

* * *

Skull barely paid any attention to the end of the tournament outside of cheering Fleur on...and giving all the champions the rather useful advice of throwing a stone at the goblet in case someone thought it was a brilliant idea to trap the pedestal or leave a 'surprise' for the champion attempting to grab it.

Considering the maze and the fact it wasn't that uncommon to trap the important artifacts in them, all three took it under advisement.

It was harmless enough, since the tournament would end once someone picked the thing up anyway.

Which was why Fleur was _very_ glad Skull had said something, when the damn thing turned out to be a _port key_. Since the officials were very shocked to learn that someone had turned the goblet into a portkey, she was sweating bullets at the near miss. Gods only knew what would have happened if she had touched it directly rather than knock it off with a rock!


	37. Chapter 37

**Sorry folks! Been raining like crazy lately and there's no way I'm getting out in that! Also this is a hint of a possible pairing for Skull, but he is BI, not gay.  
**

* * *

"I thought you were _joking_ about this!" hissed Blaise irate.

"Why would I joke about chaos?" asked Skull baffled.

"This is both hilarious and enlightening," said Renato, grinning.

"Hey, you're the one who mentioned what I was planning to _her_ of all people!" said Skull.

The trio watched as the two ladies of 'distinguished' age bonded over pictures of grandchildren and blowing something up that belonged to a bunch of idiots.

Introducing Daniela Vongola and the Queen of England was a complete accident, but damn if it wasn't hilarious to watch the two mature women gleefully aim their bombardment at what _used_ to be the mansion belonging to one Cornelius Fudge.

The man was currently trapped in a Wizangamot meeting and the aurors were a bit busy with the Dark Mark that Skull had cheerfully shot over the house of Delores Umbridge.

Which meant that the response time for the attack was likely to be a complete joke.

"How did you even kidnap the queen anyway?" asked Renato curious.

"I walked into the room she was in without much warning and said I have an enchanted tank and the location of several Death Eater homes or their sympathizers and I was wondering if she'd like to help blow a few up as a way to express her royal displeasure to their behavior back when they were active for harming her citizens. Once she got over her shock and found out I wasn't kidding, she was all for it. I even sweetened the deal by telling her she could have free reign to blow up the current Minister's mansion for being an incompetent politician who would happily look the other way if paid enough, especially if the victim was a 'muggle' or 'muggleborn'. She didn't even mind the kidnapping since she found the whole thing rather amusing. Daniela's presence is all Renato's fault though."

Blaise looked sorely tempted to hex his Sky and best friend. Or strangle him, fifty-fifty.

Renato...was too busy laughing at the chaos Skull was creating.

"That was entirely too much fun!" said Daniela happily. "I wish my son was as amusing as you."

"Agreed," said Elizabeth, grinning wildly.

Being the queen was bloody boring, never mind the fact she rarely got to cut loose and do something like _this_. She couldn't complain about it, but this was the most fun she had had in _years_.

"Now about these bases you want to release for private buyers... may I ask what you plan to do with them?" asked the Queen.

"Build villages and give a discreet out, mostly. There are an untold number of 'new bloods' who don't have anywhere to go because the idiots in the current administration don't like the fact their blood isn't pure enough for them. Never mind the werewolves and other 'creatures'."

The Queen was apparently satisfied with that answer, because it sounded like her 'kidnapper' was planning to solve quite a few issues with the homeless and jobless magicals cast out because they weren't the "right sort".

"At the most we'll be doing farms to produce food and other things, but that's about it. The issue is the land needed and the ability to become 'legitimate' villages and towns for bureaucracy's sake."

"We shall see about giving you full access to the bases no longer in use. However the inhabitants _will_ have to submit to the Crown's law, not the Ministry's."

"We're planning a hostile takeover of that place anyway, and hopefully we'll have an acceptable replacement before things get out of hand. At the very least they'll learn to respect the new 'law keepers'," said Skull with a straight face. "Now milady, would you like a lift back to your residence?"

The flamboyant bow he gave had both the older women smirking at that. He was such a flatterer.

Daniela waited for the Queen to be gone (she had a new pen pal to chat with!) before she turned to an overly amused Renato and Blaise.

"So what's his real plan?"

"Create a sort of 'retirement' community for those who want out of the underworld but still want to be kept in the loop. Since they'll be acting as our informants and providing income it should be enough to skate by on Omerta so long as everyone signs the secrecy agreement. He plans to at least do a partial merger with magicals and mafia, with a firm 'Not My Problem' approach to any weirdness either side experiences due to cultural differences. So long as outsiders are kept firmly out of the loop of what's really going on, it should work," said Blaise.

"And the replacement government?"

"The mundane one is out of the question, but the magical one is so insular that it's doubtful the Vindice will care so long as Omerta is more or less upheld. I have no idea who he's going to get as the law keepers though," said Blaise.

"That's because you don't think," said Skull, tapping his head. "What do you think is going to happen if a bunch of Flame Actives take over a subculture of powered individuals to the point that they're contributing to the ruling famiglia of the region? Especially if the government decides to release how 'soul fire' works and makes it clear that the use of it isn't banned so long as the mundanes are kept out of the loop?"

Renato was the first to catch on, because he stared.

"No. You're not seriously suggesting..."

"Well who better to scare the living shit out of a bunch of morons who think their magic and long lineages are enough to do whatever they want so long as they don't target those in their peerage?" grinned Skull.

Blaise paled when he realized what Skull was getting at.

"You're going to get the _Vindice_ involved?!"

"Again, who's the first ones that come to mind when it comes to scaring a bunch of idiots with special powers into behaving and is completely neutral? I mean if they wanted to seize control they would have done it already... Though I don't get why people are so afraid of Draugr."

"What's a draugr?" asked Daniela, both fascinated and slightly horrified.

"Norse undead. Basically corpses too stubborn to properly die that still have their Dying Will, though obviously since they are dead it got mutated into something else that works just as well," said Skull without hesitation. "Which is pretty damn terrifying considering the Vindice are actually undead Arcobaleno."

Seeing the mafia raised cringed at such an idea, Skull grinned.

"Their leader is cranky as hell, but he's pretty chill. Especially since he found out I wasn't joking when I said I'd invite him to my parties just to see people's reactions, or deliver baked treats on demand."

"You are insane!" said Blaise.

"Well what the hell do I have to fear from them anyway? I carry a sixty-foot snake that can _literally_ kill with a look and has poison so deadly that the only known cure is tears from a self-roasting turkey!"

Blaise looked horrified, Daniela looked amused, and Renato was laughing.

"He has a point you know."

"Don't help him!"

"So you take over the government, make enough of them Flame Active that you can openly ask the Vindice to deal with punishment, and scare everyone into behaving again," said Daniela. "It could work...provided the other enclaves don't get involved."

"Please, last time Voldemort was active they damn near isolated the country so that it didn't spill onto their shores save for a few morons who managed to get out and tried recruiting. Considering some of the morons who joined in were Flame Active with mafia connections and the Statute nearly broke due to Voldemort's attacks on the civilians, I highly doubt the Vindice will complain overly much about insuring it doesn't happen again, even if it means adding a little to their workload," said Skull dismissively.

Besides, Verde was already making some headway into a potential alternative for the pacifiers, which would get the Vindice leader on Skull's side. Bermuda was still pissed at Checkerface for roping them into the broken system, and Skull planned to put a tracker on that asshole so the Vindice could locate him and kick him in the balls repeatedly for what he did to them.

Hey, he liked Bermuda. Bitter as hell but had a wicked sense of humor and was openly amused by the fact Skull gave zero shits about what they were or what they did.

Skull didn't get involved even after the curse, and he respected the rules the Vindice laid down because they made sense. The worst they could do is kill him, but for Skull it would have been a release more than anything.

So yeah, he had a lot of respect for the Vindice and didn't mind inviting them over for drinks and food. It was certainly a nice change of pace from the abject fear from the idiots they had to deal with.

Daniela looked thoughtful. A government ruled by the public face of a famiglia _would_ be grounds enough to get the Vindice involved in keeping the worst of the idiots from getting ideas. If he got enough Flame Actives involved in day to day matters anyway to make it look like any other famiglia.

"So basically you're giving people a chance to leave the mafia without actually _leaving_ it, in exchange for favors, information and protection."

"The fact they'll be working side by side with the majority of the English magical enclave while being part of Midnight would make it easier for people to believe we simply took over the majority of the territory from the Tomaso famiglia without actually disrupting their operations," said Skull sensibly. "Hence why I'm certain it wouldn't take that much to get the Vindice to agree to take over the judiciary process, because lets face it, it's a complete joke right now and I am _not_ taking over as some sort of king."

Daniela grinned at him.

"I think I like you. Far more sensible than my idiot son and you have a good idea of how to go about things to get them done without it blowing up in your face."

"Only thing needed is to get another famiglia involved so we can hit Mafia Land," said Skull pouting.

He found the clause that explicitly stated that a new famiglia needed a reference from an established and accepted family before they were allowed on the island very annoying. Restarting a famiglia that had been forgotten in history wasn't enough, apparently.

"I think I can help with that. The reference only says you need a Don or Donna from an established family to be considered legitimate enough to go there...they say nothing about the person in question needing to be the _current_ leader."

"And this gives me an excuse to 'kidnap' you more so you can use the idiots who actually believe the crap Riddle says as target practice and blow more shit up," said Skull cheerfully. Daniela grinned at him. "You know what I love best though?"

"What's that?"

"Diplomatic immunity. If this works out I plan to kidnap the Emperor of China next so he can express what he _really_ thinks of the mundane Chinese government that kicked him out of his family out of their old homes."

"I swear you need a new hobby," said Blaise crossly. "Or get laid, whichever comes first."

"Please, like I'd go anywhere near the fools available in the English magical enclaves with how closely everyone is related to each other. Incest is _not_ my kink, thank you very much," said Skull dismissively. "Maybe once things settle down I'll try my luck in Italy or something."

Skull had his back to Renato, so he missed the look in the slightly older boy's eyes. Blaise, however, did not.

* * *

"I will seriously pay you if you can get him drunk enough to get laid."

"Is it really that bad?"

"I have to live with that idiot in a _boarding_ school almost year round, and this was just a taste of what he pulls when he's _bored_. What the hell do you think?" said Blaise flatly.

"I'm going to need something strong enough to get him drunk. I've seen him outlast grown men after all."

"I could honestly care less if you raided the good bottles from the cellars. At least it'll go to someone who will appreciate it, just save the bottles please."

Renato's eyes gleamed at the offer. It wasn't like he could afford the really, really good liquors, since they tended to get bought and then stored for decades at a time until some young idiot with more money than sense managed to dig it up and drink it without appreciating it. Or whenever someone tried to impress another by showing how rich they were.

"Challenge accepted," he purred, eyed gleaming with wicked intent. "Is Skull even interested in guys?"

"He has openly stated he's bisexual, it's just that he's too leery of dating anyone from England due to the inbreeding problem. You're his Sun and you can't get knocked up without a gender swapping potion, so you should be 'safe' enough for him to let his guard down," deadpanned Blaise.

Renato blinked at that.

"Guys can get knocked up?"

"Why do you think there's next to no prejudice about same-gender couples in the enclaves? So long as one of them is willing to take the hit and bear a few heirs, no one really gives a damn as long as it's discreet."

Renato waited until a major news headline set Skull's behavior off again before he acted.

"I'll handle this," he told Camellia and Fon.

The two looked at each other, then at Blaise who smirked.

"Don't disturb them for a few hours and get a few potions ready for muscle ache," he informed them.

The Mist and Storm looked at each other, before shrugging.

"Works for me," said Camellia unconcerned.

Inwardly Fon was wondering how Reborn would react if he knew that he had slept with Skull...then remembered it wasn't his problem. Besides, if this worked then they'd happily use Renato as a way to calm the Cloud down from his panic attacks disguised as bored chaos.

The headline that set Skull off?

A mass break out in Azkaban, with the Lestrange trio being some of the escapees.


	38. Chapter 38

**Sorry folks, I don't write smut on here. As for who tops, it depends on who feels like being the dominate of the two. Ren and Skull tend to switch it up, but I will say that their first time Renato was the top. XD  
**

 **Also, the much anticipated return of Viper!**

* * *

Camellia took _one_ look at the relaxed state of her brother before looking to Fon incredulous.

"How did it seriously never occurred to us that he just needed to get laid?"

Because the manic energy that the Cloud usually gave off was surprisingly docile at the moment.

"To be fair, he wouldn't have been old enough to properly enjoy it since boys hit puberty a bit later than girls do and his voice only broke properly last year," Fon reminded her.

"Point. At least now we have another outlet for his bad habits that don't involve you two beating the living daylights out of each other," said Camellia with relief.

"Speaking of... how are you holding up?" asked Fon with concern. She had taken the news that her parents were free again almost as badly as Neville had, for much of the same reason.

Lady Longbottom at least, did not hold her parents crimes against her since Camellia had firmly cut her ties with them to the point she was more Potter than Black.

Camellia was quiet. She didn't like talking about her parents for good reason, and there was little doubt in her mind that Bellatrix would hunt for her daughter now that she was out.

She wasn't entirely certain that she could handle that confrontation, because she already knew _exactly_ how it would go.

Bellatrix was firmly in thrall to Riddle and wouldn't hesitate to offer up her daughter as a sacrifice. And she would never accept "no" as an answer.

At the very least she would expect her child to bear the man's heir, since it was doubtful she could do it herself. The woman was deranged and Camellia would not be sad once her parents were dead.

Fon gently wrapped his arms around her and let her take solace in his presence.

As it was, Skull happened to be there the day Bellatrix managed to track her daughter down to try and convince Camellia to join the Dark Lord.

It did not end well...for the Death Eater that is.

* * *

Camellia stared at her birth mother with no small amount of horror and disgust. Azkaban had not been kind to her mother, that was for certain.

Bellatrix looked like the deranged monster that she was, though there was a few more gray hairs than in her arrest pictures. There was a mad gleam in her eyes and it was clear that she would take her daughter to her master by force if she could get away with it.

Considering Camellia only had a fraction of the same training her mother did, it did not bode well for her.

"No. I have no interest in serving a pathetic hypocrite who can't even hold up his own end of the deal. I prefer things that make me money, not servitude," said Camellia flatly.

Inwardly she was wondering where the sudden sense of calm was coming from, because it certainly wasn't from Skull's presence. He was slowly making his way behind Bellatrix, trying to keep the deranged witch from noticing him so he could plant a dagger into her back.

He absolutely refused to let this woman leave alive.

It was strange, as her mother started spouting off the same pure blood bullshit that Riddle claimed he was about, Camellia only felt a bizarre sense of apathy and disgust. It wasn't from Skull, she knew, because he wouldn't dare cast a spell on her that could be noticed and removed.

It took her a few seconds to realize that the source originated from her Flames, the embodiment of her soul.

So it was only natural that when Bellatrix realized her daughter wasn't going to cooperate and that there was someone attempting to kill her from behind, that Camellia reacted in order to protect her brother.

She _yanked_ on the odd sensation in her Flames, only to feel a strong sense of vertigo as something latched onto her soul and started pouring in.

Where Camellia Potter-Black had been before was now Mammon Esper, aka Viper the Mist Arcobaleno.

And they were unimpressed with the unoriginal attack style of their birth mother.

"Mu. Please tell me that's not the best you can do," said Viper flatly, dodging the curse.

Without even thinking too hard about it, Viper slammed some of their reality-warping illusions around Bellatrix. She didn't stand a chance...not that she really would have.

Viper had spent their entire life only able to rely on their illusions, so they had to get very good very quickly to survive after being cast out. Bellatrix was an addled witch who had long since lost touch with reality... bending that to Viper's will was child's play and there was no way in hell their mother was going to be able to get out of it.

Viper looked dispassionately as Skull easily killed their mother. They had never liked her anyway, not that they ever had a chance to know her.

Looking into Skull's eyes, Viper felt a wave of exhaustion and the worst migraine in existence hit them like a freight train. Skull caught them without hesitation, and they blacked out.

 _Skull POV_

Well, he had called that happening the second he found out he wasn't the only one who remembered.

"Lark!"

It took all of a few seconds to hand Camellia, or rather Viper, over to her fiancee.

"What happened?"

"Bellatrix showed up, attempted to recruit her and then Viper came back," Skull summed up. "The bitch is dead, hurrah."

"Naturally, I wouldn't expect you to leave... Wait, go back a moment. Did you just say _Viper_ came back?" said Verde.

"As in Camellia skipped magic and went straight to reality-warping bullshit using Mist Flames to trap her mother so I could stab the bitch? If that wasn't Viper, then I don't know who that was," deadpanned Skull. "Unless it was Daemon Spade, but I don't think he could fake half of Viper's mannerisms _that_ quick without me picking up on it."

"Daemon Spade. As in the Vongola Primo and Secundo's Mist," said Verde flatly.

"Yeah, apparently not as dead as we might like, but then again considering the rather strong resemblance that guy had to Mukuro of all people I'm inclined to believe the 'possessing people' thing is genetic and that he simply has more practice than Mukuro ever did," said Skull.

"How in blazes could you possibly be sure?"

"Active Sticky Trace," said Skull. Verde shut up.

Viper's odd psychic ability _never_ failed to find someone unless they were being actively cloaked. If they were dead, then the 'trace' would just come out as snot. If they were alive, then it would either work or make it clear that someone knew how to cover their tracks.

So for her to be able to pick up an Active trace on someone everyone just assumed had been dead for centuries... that was a pretty big indicator that he had likely found a way to become a Mist Ghost that simply prolonged his stay in the world by possessing others.

Mukuro Rokudo's affinity with the Possession Bullet was hardly unknown, after all. If he was related to Daemon Spade and they shared that particular gift it explained quite a bit. Especially since Spade was in fact a wizard, which made Mukuro either a squib or someone who simply had no idea he had magic in the first place.

 _A few days later_

Viper woke up with a monumental headache and their memories almost scrambled. It was not a nice feeling and they felt like their head was quite literally splitting in half at the inconsistencies.

"Easy sis. Don't try to overthink the memory dump just yet. It takes a few days for it to settle before it's even remotely possible to work through trying to sort two sets of memories," said a familiar voice.

Viper turned to find Skull, except he wasn't Skull at the moment.

Harry Potter...or as her mind helpfully supplied, Harry Black, her older brother. She winced at the way her mind tried to sort out that particular tidbit.

"Ren, could you?"

Renato Sinclair, or 'Reborn' as their mind supplied, gently put his hand on her head and channeled a bit of Sun Flame. He was much better at the healing part of his Flames, as he had always been good at the 'activating' aspect of his Sun.

Some of the migraine started to die off, just a little.

It took them a moment to realize that _Fon_ had their head in his lap, and that he was running his fingers through their hair.

Screw it. After insuring that Byakuran didn't get the pleasure of kill them himself they needed a damn vacation and there was no way they were moving from where they were for a few days. Viper fell back asleep in Fon's lap, completely missing the look on the Storm's face.

* * *

Viper was clutching their tea like a lifeline. The fact it had been spiked quite a bit with good quality booze that they didn't have to pay for was a major bonus.

To say that the Mist was annoyed would be an understatement.

"So just to be clear, I'm the most recent one of us to return back to their younger body, but due to the sheer amount of changes to my personal timeline it left me out cold for a _week_?" said Viper irate.

"And you can't really charge me for it since you're my Steward and financial adviser, thus you would only be charging yourself," said Skull cheekily. Viper glared at them. "Look at the bright side! This time you're a proper witch _and_ you're betrothed to someone you can at least tolerate for long periods of time or can keep up with you in a total snit!"

Viper's irritation faltered slightly at that. As irritating as the week long migraine from hell had been (it had taken them two days to sort out the memories properly), she couldn't exactly complain overly much about the changes.

She had a family, she was well respected by the people who had cast her out, and she had access to a much larger store of pure blood gold with the chance of making enough to give herself whiplash if she did it correctly. Not only that but she was even a student at the school that had been denied her the first time around.

"Mu. I suppose I won't hex you _too_ badly next time you piss me off," conceded Viper after a moment. "Any idea why we keep being sent to our younger selves?"

"Actually I have a theory about that, one that Verde said might be plausible since no one really _knows_ much about the artifacts in question..." said Skull sheepishly.

All eyes on him, he pulled out three items. A wand, a cloak and a stone on a gaudy ring.

"The Deathly Hallows?" said Viper incredulous. She had thought them a mere myth... after all, rumor had it that they were either broken or lost after the Final Battle.

"When Riddle martyred me during the Final Battle and I ended up claiming the Hallows the first time, my Sky was so badly damaged that my Cloud became my primary to the point that it turned the first one into my secondary. After the curse, it must have eventually healed over enough to bond with the rest of you as my Guardians, or maybe the pacifiers accidentally connected us since I could have easily taken the Sky Pacifier if it hadn't been so damaged at the time," said Skull slowly. "So when Yuni sent our memories back to our younger selves to prevent a repeat of what happened, I think my soul must have accidentally overshot where she planned to send us...and since we were connected at the time it dragged you all with me."

"That still doesn't explain why it took so long for our memories to return," said Viper.

Though the theory did fit what little they knew of the situation. It was entirely possible that magic had intervened and decided to send Skull back much farther than anticipated to prevent his Sky from being damaged so badly in the first place.

"I believe that we each require a different 'trigger' if you will, for our memories to latch onto our younger selves. For me it was a lab accident that resulted in the death of a good friend and mentor. Fon's came back when one of the Triads tried to subvert his bond with Skull, only for it to snap back into place when he was rescued. Skull woke up when his Flames first went officially Active. And your trigger was the confrontation with your birth mother," said Verde, pushing up his glasses. "In short we each received our memories when we reached a defining moment that altered who we would become to some extent. Though out of all of us, Skull is the only one who has yet to experience any real backlash from our memories being returned."

Viper thought that statement over.

"I would have to disagree with that on principle. It's not that he hasn't experienced backlash so much as it took a different form entirely since he's at the core of all the major changes to our timeline."

"Oh?" said Verde.

"PTSD. He has days when it hits him so hard that we have to wear his energy down and then get him drunk off his ass like a pressure valve being released before his behavior stabilizes again. He has far too much experience with bottling up pain and dealing with bad things happening to him for it to manifest normally since he would simply ignore it."

Verde looked thoughtful.

"Yes, that would definitely fit in nicely and his behavior has been leveling out in steady amounts every time you drag him off to 'vent'. It's been happening far less frequently and that would explain a lot," said Verde, mostly to himself.

Skull's antics, while irritating beyond belief and capable of giving them all headaches, _had_ been calming down recently. Likely because he was experiencing a proper Harmony with Elements who actually gave a damn about his well being, but also because he instinctively knew he could let his guard down around them since they wouldn't take advantage of him.

However Verde had noticed a _decrease_ in the number of times when his "boredom" reached the levels that drove Blaise batty trying to reign him in.

If the backlash took the form of PTSD then the fact Skull was venting it over a prolonged period of time rather than all at once made far more sense.

"You're not mad, are you?" asked Skull.

Viper took one look at him and wished she hadn't.

It was hard to forget that Skull was so used to his Elements turning on him when he failed to fit the box they put him in that he just learned to accept it.

"Mu. You are still the same obnoxious brother I've always wanted and now have. Though from now on if you annoy me it's going to be more than just headslaps... I will hex you silly," said Viper gently.

Skull relaxed into the hug and Viper knew she had made the right move. Skull had cared even before this mess started, and they had thought they were lucky the first time that he so easily accepted them back as a member of the Black family.

This went above and beyond his actions then. It was hard to hate him when he had the aura of an excited kitten that was always up to mischief.


	39. Chapter 39

**On vacation in Arizona, but I can still post updates! Enjoy!  
**

* * *

The first 'village' they set up on an abandoned and decommissioned base was rather small. However the number of applicants eager for a fresh start, even if it came with a secrecy agreement, were _enormous_.

So much so that Skull bought a second 'town' (again, on a decommissioned base) that was already under repair. He gave that one to the werewolves with the knowledge that there _would_ be a fence made entirely of silver armed with guns that had tranqs that responded to heat signatures that would go active during the three days of the full moon.

Not only that, but there would be free doses of Wolfsbane available to anyone who became a citizen of the town, as well as reinforced cellars in every house.

The main draw for the werewolves was the fact that Skull did nothing to hinder their ability to come and go, or how they conducted business. He only took charge when it came time for the full moon, and he _still_ gave them a run of a decently sized forest that was guarded by another silver fence. He didn't even take a census of who had the curse and who didn't. So long as they stayed inside the boundaries during the transformation he could care less.

Skull happily tossed Viper at the planning stages to getting the villages up and running, as well as what would be needed to get a much more feasible conversion rate for galleon to mundane money... never mind that the goblins had very little way of getting rid of the mundane currency they _had_ since it was difficult converting the paper into something they would accept without a ton of red flags going up.

Or at least it was until Viper came up with the _brilliant_ idea of making a second Gringotts in the mundane world, where new bloods could convert their regular currency to galleons without involving the goblins at all. The goblins eagerly traded all their stock for a few tons of gold bullion and accepted the idea of a 'new blood' run branch that could deal with the headache without dealing with the idiots in the Ministry attempting to get a cut of the action. It wasn't like _they_ cared about mundane money, and the bullion was the market equivalent for how much the currency was worth in the mundane side.

It only took two scant weeks for word to spread about the Gringotts bank that was run by mostly new and half bloods with a solid head for math, along with a few werewolves who automatically got time off for their condition. By the third week Viper's smile would need Storm flames to wipe off her face. Not only was she making a lot of money off the idiocy of pure bloods, but she also got two percent off every transaction from the villages being set up.

She absolutely loved her brother, and didn't mind claiming him as such even with the memories that were returned to her. Having to deal with the others knowing her actual gender was annoying, but she could live with it.

She could also live with the fact Skull fully planned to find and adopt Xanxus before Timoteo ever got near him, and if possible kidnap Belphegor before he snapped. The damage done to his soul and magic for killing his twin wasn't worth it, and at least they knew how to handle his psychotic behavior.

It was nice having family who cared.

The only annoyance of their summer was the fact that Dumbledore kept trying to arrange 'meetings' with her brother. The Order of the Phoenix was active again, but much dwindled. By this point only Dumbledore's staunchest supporters were even a part of it, since Midnight was back.

If there was only thing that could motivate even the most 'pure' of wizards, it was greed and the potential for 'free' labor. It wasn't like they'd know the full extent of what was being produced so long as they got paid enough to make them happy.

And Viper was so very good at coming up with small 'fees and fines' that just coincidentally ate up the profits and hid them from people who were too stupid to do their own accounting.

The few half bloods who realized what was really going on were torn between impressed and slightly horrified at how terrifying Viper could be when money was involved.

Skull just laughed and laughed because once things really got going he'd have several idiots by the metaphorical _balls_ simply because Viper controlled the gold, not them.

If was going to be the shadow king of magical England, then he was going to do it _right_. Even if he refused to do any of the actual leading or the paperwork.

He wasn't _stupid_ thank you very much. Better to pretend he was merely a figurehead than have to deal with that crap until it came time to beat down anyone who tried to pull a fast one.

While Viper, Blaise and Verde were getting the villages set up, Skull, Fon and Renato were making a _list_ of idiots who were hadn't bothered to get the mark removed or had answered Voldemort's call again.

Unlike the Order, Skull did not believe on _sitting_ on intel until it was almost useless. He was going to be proactive.

Thank Loki "Rite of Conquest" was actually a thing, if only so they could gleefully rob the morons blind for whatever they had.

It took them a full month to compile the list, find records of where the fools might live and whether or not it was still occupied by the 'owners of record', and then do research for what sort of warding they may or may not encounter.

Tax and Ministry records were very useful, if used correctly. Percy certainly wasn't complaining about being their 'research monkey' and digging through old, forgotten records to find what his boss needed. It was safe work that he was being paid very, very well for and it was something he enjoyed.

* * *

"Should it worry me that Daniela Vongola is having way too much fun raiding these houses with us?" asked Renato, a month and a half into their project.

"Only if she doesn't share," said Skull blithely. "That being said I brought marshmallows to roast on whatever remains after she's had her fun."

Fon twitched at the word 'marshmallows', remembering a certain pain in the ass who had killed them.

"I am not giving up my s'mores or my Rice Krispie treats just because that white haired bastard was obsessed with them," said Skull. "And save some of these idiots for us, dammit!"

"First come, first serve boys!" cackled Daniela.

"You mesh way too easily with her," grumbled Renato.

"What makes you say that?" asked Skull.

"Because the two of you have been cackling in _unison_ while burning the houses to the ground!" said Renato.

"Speaking of, how much time do we have before the Order bothers to make an appearance?" asked Skull.

"Ten more minutes, minimum," said Fon, amused.

"And why aren't you complaining about this?"

"Do you have any idea how rare it is I'm able to cut loose and just destroy something without having to fill out paperwork or hear someone complain about it later? Especially with my Flame type? Besides, these fools clearly deserve the wake up call that just because the infamous Order of the Phoenix is ineffectual doesn't mean that Midnight is."

"You just enjoy tagging all the magical portraits we find," said Skull.

"That too," admitted Fon without any shame.

Fon apparently had a thing for 'marking his territory' or at least his work. Every time he burned a house down he tagged it with spray paint that anyone could buy from a hardware store. Usually in red, though he'd take purple in a pinch.

Skull had to wonder how often the Storm did this if this was his way of unwinding after an annoying mission.

Considering his past, probably a lot.

"I must admit, the amount of yelling they do when I tag their portraits is highly amusing," said Fon with a wicked grin. Skull snorted.

"Sirius damn near kissed you for it when you tagged his mum's portrait. I wonder when the Order is going to realize that all the books in the townhouse are actually blanks with a few runes to make them feel magical," said Skull snickering.

Skull was not an idiot. The second Voldemort used the ritual, he had Kreacher and the Black family elves empty most of the townhouse of anything useful, interesting or worth keeping for later. Case in point, the entire library and most of the artifacts that didn't have a trap on it in some way. Kreacher was all for leaving the darker artifacts behind, since he was displeased Sirius had basically opened up the house to the Order.

Right up until Skull explained it to him...then he just sulked while inwardly cackling at what a devious bastard his new master was.

Better to keep a potential enemy where you can see them, then deal with them sneaking about.

Dumbledore had no idea Sirius was a loyal member of Midnight, even if it was still being discreet at the moment. The second Voldemort came out into the open they would as well, claiming their part in destroying more than a few pure blood homes, but leaving the lines either intact or held 'prisoner' in another country. (Namely Italy, which was where Daniela came in.)

Unlike the old goat, Skull employed a brilliant strategy to make them look more appealing to the families of Death Eaters who didn't have the sense to leave. He offered them a deal... if they genuinely believed in the nonsense Voldemort spouted, then he'd allow them to flee as a temporary warning to others. If they were more interested in _preserving_ their bloodlines and not serving some idiot who had major daddy issues and had yet to uphold his end of the deal with a habit of tossing Crucio's around and using the children of his supporters as collateral against them, then they were given a port key to an island with enough amenities where they could hide until the entire thing blew over. They couldn't come back to England, but there was a decently sized magical community nearby that they could visit for supplies and just to do something.

It was a better offer than Dumbledore gave, that was for sure.

So far more than a few families had fled England to this safe zone, and those with the ability to communicate across countries had gotten in touch with their friends to let them know the offer was on the 'up and up', so to speak. And who to contact if they wanted out with their family libraries and treasures intact, before they started making house calls.

Mansions could be rebuilt. Lost heirlooms and grimiores were much more difficult to retrieve after the fact.

Let their family heads deal with their own damn mistakes. They would rather not be caught in the crossfire when Voldemort realized how boned he was. Some of them were old enough to remember his temper tantrums, thank you very much.

Viper was humming in a suspiciously happy manner, and it made Verde extra leery.

On the plus side, they were more or less helping a bunch of fools wake up and smell the modern age. On the downside he was the one who had to do most of the work since they generally had no idea how to set up something as simple as a generator or a computer.

Viper was just happy because the potential profit was almost guaranteed to outweigh the cost of running the town. Even if the first few years were bumpy, it looked like it would be well worth the cost of start up.

Magic made everything much simpler, and with secrecy agreements keeping everyone honest it meant they could do a lot more. Add in favors from those who wanted a bit of peace while staying part of the underworld... and you had a very happy Mist who would abuse those favors for their information network.

A network that was going to be far more extensive than what it had been originally, since it used both worlds.

"So who's our first batch of ex-criminals?" asked Viper.

"Just some former hit men, assassins and general crooks who no longer have their Sky. They'll handle security since the track record for actually fighting back with magic is pathetic, to say the least. More than a few of them are Mists who happen to be Squibs, so if any Death Eaters attempt to make an example of the place they're going to be in for a very nasty surprise," said Verde.

Everyone had already signed a general secrecy agreement that was ironclad in the mundane, magical and mafia side of things. Meaning if you blabbed to someone who wasn't already under the same contract having the word "Sneak" across your forehead was the least of your potential worries. And if you were Flame Active... well, Viper had made it explicitly clear to those coming in from the Cosa Nostra that this contract was equivalent to Omerta and thus the Vindice would be on your ass if you broke it.

Blacks could be vicious and Viper was especially so when money was involved.

Though that viciousness had been tempered once her memories settled, along with the comforting purr of her Flames knowing she not only had a family that cared, but also a Sky who would happily burn the world around them to protect her.

"Now if only more than three of them knew how to do something as basic as setting up a computer," grumbled Verde.

"Look at the bright side... we can charge them through the nose for tech support and use it to fund your experiments," said Viper far too cheerfully. Verde snorted.

"I knew handing over the budget to you was a smart move," he commented, coming out from under the desk.

"If only so you didn't have to do it yourself," snarked Viper.

By and large, most of Skull's Elements had dumped their budget and bank records on her simply because they had limited skill in that regard. It didn't hurt that Viper was an extremely thorough forensic accountant and thus could sniff out when even the smallest amount of money was being siphoned or mishandled. By having all their money in a collective account it made keeping on budget that much simpler and gave Skull's Elements more time to do things they enjoyed.

It wasn't like they weren't used to it... Viper had been in charge of their money before and kept it flush with cash without bothering them with the little details unless they were overspending on frivolous things.

Case in point, the time Viper lit into Reborn for overspending on coffee or on Lal for going over the budget for bullets. Skull had been the only one of them never had a lecture about overspending, simply because he had a habit of being highly frugal with his money and buying used.

"How are you holding up, by the way?" asked Verde.

"It's...disorienting. But the benefits of it are outweighing the headaches I keep getting," admitted Viper. "It's a bit of a shock learning I'm now a proper witch and that I was brought back into the family before it was greatly diminished."

"You're handling it better than Fon did," commented Verde. "Skull had to get him to cut loose with a no-hold's barred sparing match that wore him out before he could properly reset, and it still took a few weeks before he fully adjusted to his new situation."

Viper blushed at that, mostly because of the fact that she was now _betrothed_ to the Storm. There had always been some interest between them, but once they hit sixteen they could properly act on it. Verde smirked at her knowingly, as he was well aware of what caused the blush.


	40. Chapter 40

**Is now officially on Ao3 as SakuraDemonAlchemist. Look at the poll on my profile page to find out why...and remember to vote people!**

* * *

"Well Dumbledore is certainly taking his time. And guarding the prophecy that you already removed weeks ago by the time he found out old snake face was back," said Sirius.

"Bah. I'm three steps ahead of his little game and he hasn't even cottoned on to the fact yet," said Skull dismissively. "At least you're not trapped in that house 24-7 with only Kreacher to keep you company."

Sirius shuddered. When he finally figured out Skull's mind had somehow been shunted off to his younger self, he had asked what happened the last time.

And was heartily thankful things were different. Being trapped in Grimmauld place was not his idea of fun.

Finding out Bellatrix had been the one to kill him was a further shock, though one that wouldn't happen this time due to several factors.

One, Voldemort's shade had been booted out of his godson's head this time around, so no visions.

Two, Skull was aware of the prophecy and had already removed it before Dumbledore caught wind of Riddle's resurrection.

Three, Skull had killed Bellatrix already.

All in all, Sirius was relieved that his godson wouldn't fall for the same trap twice and that his continued survival was almost guaranteed.

That being said, he was not particularly interested in the idea of bringing his godson to Order headquarters.

Fortunately, there were ways around that.

"So what is this again?"

"Decoy Puppet. Thanks to Skull, I've been able to include magical signatures. With a minor scrying spell, he'll be able to fool the idiots into thinking he's there when we're really dealing with the problem directly. There's only about fifty to seventy-five remaining Death Eaters, and twelve of them are actually spies we've sent in to infiltrate the group," said Verde absently. "Honestly, relying purely on the word of a man with no clear loyalty is just _asking_ for trouble. Especially since he so gleefully accepted the offer to leave the first chance he got."

Snape, the _second_ he learned Voldemort was back, did the sensible thing.

He sent in a resignation and booked the first flight to Italy, where he became the personal potion master of Daniela. She was rather gleeful about this, and it wasn't like the Italians would give a damn about where he was so long as he didn't make waves. After all, the Vongola were practically a power unto themselves and they held a lot of clout both in the magical and mundane side.

So Skull and the others knew exactly where Voldemort was almost all the time...they were just biding their time until he pissed them off enough to make one big strike.

Besides, the second that fool was out of the picture, Dumbledore might very well try to turn the people against "Harry Black", just to get his only remaining rival out of the way.

Better to keep the two locked in combat until Skull's position trumped both of theirs, so he could strike them down at the same time.

And if Dumbledore died again, well then Voldemort's time among the living would dwindle down to nothing _very_ quickly.

Skull might have hidden as a lion the first time, but this time he was going to be positively Slytherin about the whole 'blood purge' bullshit. Like hell was he martyring himself again!

* * *

Sirius wanted to stare when he realized that these...Decoy Puppets...were more effective than he could have guessed. No one realized that "Harry" was in fact a fake.

He kept his silence though...it was a very good prank!

Skull wanted to throw Molly Weasley and a few others out on the street. It was only through sheer strength of will that he did not.

The reason was simple enough. Molly was outright _trampling_ on the unspoken Pure Blood Rules of Hospitality.

Namely the way she automatically acted as though _she_ was the ruler of the house, not Sirius or to a different extent Skull as head of the family.

Molly was a pure blood. She should damn well _know_ better, and while Arthur was clearly whipped by his wife he should be reigning her in. Being tired from work was no excuse. He should know the rules, as head of the family.

Which was why Skull took Bill and Charlie aside with a dead serious look on his face.

"I'm going to be blunt here. What do you two know of the rules of hospitality among pure bloods?"

Charlie and Bill winced at the same time.

"We're more surprised Sirius isn't the one calling her out on it," said Bill. "I mean I know Mum can be overbearing but this goes beyond being controlling. She's openly spitting on the same rules any pure blood should know. And I _know_ grandmum would have taught her that much... we might be lax about them, but not this much."

"Yeah, it's kind of strange. She doesn't even remotely respect Sirius and it's _his_ house. To say nothing of the way she's ordering _you_ around as if you have nothing to do with this conflict," said Charlie.

"Come to think of it, she was being a bit overly bossy with Hermione earlier," said Bill frowning. "Even though technically, she's under your protection since Verde is one of your Knights and she's his girlfriend."

"Yeah, tell her that. She still has a few hang ups considering muggles aren't as lax as magicals when it comes to multiple pairings. I'm still waiting on Luna to ambush her and Verde for a proper Lovegood-style threesome," grinned Skull. "By the way, where exactly do your loyalties lie?"

"...You're a part of Midnight, aren't you?" asked Bill.

"Maybe."

"In that case, I'm on your side. Dumbledore has been enabling far too many of Mum's bad habits for me to be comfortable with, to say nothing of how many bad decisions he made last time," said Charlie. Then he grinned. "Besides, there's no way I'm siding with that old goat when I have a much more amusing little brother to spoil. Do you have _any_ idea how close Scamander came to damn near adopting you after the hatching?"

"Wait, what?" said Skull baffled.

"He'd join Midnight in a heartbeat if he knew you were part of it, if only because he knows you'd make far more reasonable protections for all the creatures he holds near and dear. You two like them more than people, after all," said Charlie grinning.

The two of them had practically acted like long lost brothers when it came to animals.

Don't get him wrong, Newt was somewhat indebted to Dumbledore for keeping him from losing his wand after what happened to his ex-fiancee. However Dumbledore was _also_ responsible for a lot of laws that he really hated and for keeping the same people who would exploit his beloved creatures purely for profit if they could get away with it.

Skull, on the other hand? He made it very clear that he sided with the animals nine times out of ten, since generally they were provoked by idiots in the first place.

He kept a pet _dragon_ in his case and treated it with the proper amount of respect it deserved. That alone would have cemented him in Newt's good books. And that was before he got into a rant about the "poor basilisk's" living conditions before he rescued it.

So yeah, odds were Newt would join Midnight in a heartbeat if it meant better laws and protection for his creatures.

Skull rubbed his chin, before an evil, evil idea came to him.

A way to secure Newt's help and run several pure bloods out of business when it came to certain potion ingredients.

Newt would probably be thrilled at the idea. His stance on poachers were very clear after all.

* * *

 _Elsewhere in the UK..._

"I'm sensing a major money making and political scheme and I want in," said Viper, practically teleporting to Skull's side.

"The Blacks have large tracks of land in Africa with magical and normal game, right? What if we subtly ran certain pure bloods out of business and had the Scamander family check on all the creatures that claim our territory so we could sell certain animals and their parts for a premium? With a percentage of the proceeds going towards maintaining and preserving the herds and packs and insuring they are in prime health and sustainability?" said Skull. "And we could offer up bounties for anyone stupid enough to poach in our sanctuary, and offer permits for Mythozoologists to go in and earn their licenses within supervised limits?"

Viper rubbed their chin.

"I like it. It would secure the Scamanders on our side considering they like us anyway and if we run the less than legitimate ones out of business then we would increase the price of the ingredients we _do_ sell. Not to mention that higher quality ingredients would market very easily."

"Yeah, I was thinking we make 'Black Potion ingredients' the equivalent of selling Kobe beef to the pure bloods."

Viper's money making senses were pinging like crazy.

"Have I ever said how much I love having a brother like you?"

"Not since your 'future' self came back," said Skull.

Viper felt a bit of shame hearing that. She had been so caught up lately that she had almost neglected her favorite brother.

The miserly Mist hugged him tightly.

"Well I'm saying it now. I wouldn't trade you for the world or even a cure for the curse," said Viper. Skull could tell she was dead serious about that, which really touched him.

Viper had been one of the most adamant about breaking the curse.

It took Skull a moment, before he realized Viper wasn't going to even think of charging him for a cuddling session and he happily relaxed into her hold.

Fon found the two of them like that fifteen minutes later and didn't say a word.

Skull needed to reaffirm the fact that Viper cared about him as family right now, especially with how stressed he was.

"Now, I think you need a small holiday before the term starts. How about France?" suggested Viper.

"What are you really planning?" asked Skull.

"We need blackmail on Colonello and I may have bribed Fleur into giving me the general location of where he lives. Think of this as a paid holiday to spend with Renato, since he doesn't get to spend much time with you during the year."

"And the fact we might be going at it like bunnies?"

"If it gets your crazed schemes to calm down this year, I'll consider it a win," deadpanned Viper. "I am not above shipping you and Renato as a couple if it means fewer gray hairs for me later."

"Ditto," came the response of Verde and Fon, hearing that comment.

Fon especially, since Skull had followed through on his plan to kidnap the sitting regent of England to have her help blow up a few Death Eater manors with Daniela Vongola of all people.

And Blaise...well he had openly _bribed_ the Sun in question to sleep with his Sky/Cloud just to get some relief from Skull's antics. Enough said about that matter.

"And if that's not enough incentive to take a vacation...and get out of our hair for a few days while trolling the Rain...there's this," said Verde.

"...Is that a new motorcycle complete with flying charms and next to no safety charms to keep me from killing myself with insane speeds save for the inertial dampeners? The kind that would take months to put together?" said Skull, already drooling.

"It also comes equipped with recording and scrying charms, with mirrors already set to capture every moment that will be recorded off sight so we can not only get blackmail but also give you a recording of your more insane ideas while driving that will give all of us gray hairs just thinking of how easily you could crash," said Verde smugly.

It was official. Skull _loved_ his family and his Elements.

"We're also leaving the fun stuff with Renato, so enjoy yourself and let loose. Get a tattoo for all we care, just try to come back before next term in one piece," said Viper smirking.

"I love you guys," said Skull, wiping away tears of joy.

"Think of this as a precursor for when you graduate and we all agree to meet up when that man contacts us," said Fon smiling. "At least once we get the new government set up and have the Vindice take over as the new judges."

With the amulets, the strain of being away from Skull for too long were more or less mitigated so long as they met up once a year. That meant they could all have some fun alone and catch up, while trolling the three not already in the loop for shits and giggles later.

Renato, when he heard of what they were going to be doing, had a positively shit-eating grin on his face. It did _not_ help that they would be using a magical tent to save on hotel costs, which meant far more privacy and less chance of having anyone spy on them.

Skull could only wonder if Renato would still act like this when 'Reborn' got his memories back and realized how very wrong he was about the "Lackey" of the group.

Meh, it wasn't his problem and at least he knew the others would be quicker to back him up this time around, once the Sun got his head back on straight.

He just hoped that Reborn didn't use him as target practice for it later.


	41. Chapter 41

In retrospect, needing a week to realize he might actually be in a _relationship_ with his Sun was a bit embarrassing. The clues had started out simple enough.

First had been the little touches. Skull was used to those by this point, though these were a bit more...intimate...than the ones Fon, Verde and Viper all used, with the rare occasion of Blaise. Luna often gave him surprise hugs because she was one of the rare few who could get away with it and not have him flinch the second he registered anyone within his personal space.

Renato used fleeting touches that would get him all hot and bothered, while smirking until Skull had enough and pounced on his Sun.

Skull would have cursed teenage hormones...if it wasn't for the fact he was actually having fun with them for a change. Last time he was fifteen his life had straight out _sucked_. And that wasn't getting into the sheer amount of anger issues as his Cloud instincts had been going haywire from being caged for so damn long and kept out of the loop.

So yeah, he was enjoying this maybe a bit too much.

The second clue was the outings. Skull originally though it was Renato's way of bonding with his Sky, which he didn't spend _nearly_ as much time as he would like with over the school year. He was very grateful Skull went out of his way to make his Sun a bit more comfortable despite the separation issue and the fact that he should _technically_ be stuck in a boarding school in the middle of _nowhere_ (and Renato _had_ checked the GPS coordinates for Hogwarts...it LITERALLY fit the definition of "middle of nowhere") for several months.

The third clue was the flirting...though to be fair, Skull was rather dense when it came to that sort of thing and originally thought it was some sort of game to see who could compete for the best pick-up lines.

Skull's experience when it came to dating (of either gender) was laughably limited at best, and disastrous at worst. He could count a grand sum of ten dates before the curse, quite a few of which ended rather badly or didn't really take off. To say nothing of the nightmare that was his school years, where such things were pretty much off the table.

Hence why it took Renato taking the initiative and kissing him in _public_ with a smug smirk before he realized what was going on.

He almost hexed that damn Sun for being so bloody smug about the fact he hadn't figured out they were going out on dates in the first place. That being said, when he finally did figure it out it took him days before he could look Renato in the eye without blushing.

It took him a month before it fully hit that he could tentatively call Renato his _boyfriend_.

By that point he was fervently hoping Reborn didn't kill him when he got his memories back, or that he at least had one hell of a head start before the rather chaotic Sun came after his ass and not in a good way.

* * *

 _In France..._

"That blond looked like he had seen a ghost," said Renato, openly amused and fascinated.

Considering the 'blond' looked far too much like a much younger Colonello (he looked really weird out of military fatigues) and the fact he had been staring pretty hard at Renato with what could only be shocked recognition, Skull was betting that they had found the Rain.

Which made trolling him far too much fun, especially since Skull's "Marauding Sense" told him that they'd have more fun if he cross-dressed today. Renato had been delighted that Skull didn't actually mind looking like a girl for the day, or that he could pass as a very pretty one if he put his mind to it.

The fact Colonello hadn't figured out who Renato's "girlfriend" was, either as Skull or Harry Potter, meant that they could spend a lot of time trolling him until he finally realized that the 'girl' was in fact a _boy_.

Needless to say Renato was all for trolling someone for the sheer hell of it because he could.

Colonello's reaction to the fact Renato was on a date with a boy a full week later (which was around the time Skull cottoned on to the fact they were actually dating) was glorious. Best of all they had caught it all since it was done near the bike. And Skull would be able to take copies of the look on his face from a pensieve if he were so inclined.

Skull noticed something nearby and a massive grin came across his face.

"Hey Ren...did you know there's a convention in town tomorrow?"

Renato perked up. Conventions meant cosplay, which also meant a lot of fun to be had.

"What kind?"

Skull eyed the poster, before replying "Looks like a Final Fantasy or at least a gaming one. They usually have some good stuff and this means I can stock up on my late night entertainment a bit early."

Ren rubbed his chin.

"What should we cosplay as then?"

"I don't know about you, but if this really is a gaming convention then I'm totally going as Zack Fair, from Final Fantasy Seven, just need to get the purple eyes and the right outfit with a fake Buster Sword and I'd be a shoo-in. Well, that and style my hair properly..." Skull admitted. He eyed Renato, before a grin came across his face. "And with your penchant for guns, we'd just need the right wig and some red contacts and you'd be able to pass for Vincent Valentine or something!"

Renato scowled at him.

"I'm a Sun, not a Storm."

"Yeah, but it means you could walk around with a gold claw being the embodiment of Chaos and wielding a triple-barrel gun! I mean coloration aside, you'd fit Vincent perfectly...well except the side burns, but that's what the wig is for."

Renato blinked, before grinning.

"I forgot he had Chaos implanted in him. I'm in," said Renato grinning.

"To the cosplaying! We're going to need to work fast if we want to get our costumes ready!" said Skull enthusiastically, eyes gleaming.

Best of all, he could almost pass for Zack Fair, save for the penchant for big swords. They had a similar personality and everything!

Skull was practically bouncing in his spot when they reached the convention. Renato's annoyance at the color scheme aside, he was having a lot of fun cosplaying as Vincent Valentine.

Skull had taken one look at the Sun before snickering and sending a text to Viper.

He could feel the open amusement on her end of their bond from the comment of how Vincent Valentine and Sephiroth could have passed for a slightly older Xanxus and Squalo.

Viper only got the joke when Verde looked up the characters in question, only to cackle because Sephiroth was damn near a dead ringer for Squalo, and Vincent could have passed for a much longer haired, clawed version of Xanxus.

"Oh my gosh! Your Zack cosplay is dead on! How did you get the eyes right?" asked one girl.

"All natural!" said Skull with enthusiasm, which had the girl squealing and drawing the attention of the other fans.

"You _have_ to try for best costume! You even have the personality right! Him though... he makes a passable Vincent, but the aura is all wrong," said the girl.

"Red is _not_ my color," complained Renato.

Skull's costume garnered all sorts of attention from fellow fans, and it didn't take much for him to be dragged up on stage for the costume contest.

Admittedly, he hadn't really played the game in a while but he was sure he got the finishing move _mostly_ right. He felt vindicated when he still won Best Costume... though that was mostly from his puppyish enthusiasm and natural purple eyes. Even though the spikes were a bit wrong, that was mostly forgiven since it was hard to actually copy Zack's signature hair style.

"I have to ask, how exactly did you win best costume anyway?"

"Long story short Zack has a bit of a nickname according to _Final Fantasy VII_ canon, and the ones that came before it like _Crisis Core_ ," said Skull. "He gained the nickname of 'Puppy' among SOLDIER and it stuck."

"Ah," said Renato. He hadn't really played in a long time, after all.

Skull had a natural puppyish enthusiasm and combined with the picture he showed Renato the night before, he did resemble a younger Zack.

"Viper is going to kill you when she finds out you spent so much at the convention."

Skull grinned wickedly.

"She'll consider it a win if it keeps me quiet and not in the mood to make her day more _interesting_ during the school year. Besides, I already warned her we were at a gaming convention and she knows how nuts I get around those. I'm as bad as a bored Verde at a tech convention for mad scientists...though in his case he has a habit of trying to one-up the ones being shown," said Skull.

Viper would chalk up the lost of money as a win, so long as it kept Skull from annoying her when he had trouble sleeping. He was usually pretty good about going into his special trunk to binge play games until he was too exhausted to stay awake, before crashing in his game room. His furniture was _extra_ comfy and all the tech in it was Verde-made, which meant it could withstand even the most intense gaming session as well as have amazing graphics and sound. And that wasn't getting into his work with mixing magic and technology so it felt like you were _literally_ in the game.

Skull absolutely killed it in first person shooter games and RPG's because of that.

Hence his addiction to the _Final Fantasy_ genre, among others.

(The only reason he had yet to pester Verde into making Chocobos was because he kept forgetting. Though odds were Luna would be quick to join in on the begging once she found out what they were.)

Renato had to smile watching Skull relax completely while playing as Zack. It was the first time in a very long time he saw the stress and worry leave the tiny Cloud's shoulders and see him act like the kid he really was.

And while he wasn't that partial to cats, hearing Skull practically purr and turn into a puddle of goo in his lap when he gave the Cloud a shoulder rub was particularly satisfying.

It was almost a shame when summer began to draw to a close. On the plus side, he had a lot of fun getting Skull drunk on his birthday, so it wasn't a total loss.

* * *

Skull took _one_ look at the book assigned for Defense and grimaced.

"Please, for the love of Loki don't tell me Fudge got it in his head that Dumbledore was raising an army because the idiot has been crowing about Voldemort's early return..."

"I wish I could, brother. I take it you know who we're dealing with?" asked Viper.

"If it went the same way it did last time, then we're going to deal with Delores Umbridge. That being said I have absolutely _no_ issue with you completely destroying her mind so that we can use her as a puppet while I get everyone's skills up to standard," said Skull in disgust.

"Bad?" asked Fon.

"She's one of the main supporters of the anti-werewolf bills and would happily have all muggleborns branded simply because they weren't pure bloods," said Viper bluntly. "Was she a Death Eater before or after the big reveal that Voldemort was back?"

"I never did figure that out. I know she had that tacky brand on her arm, but considering the sheer amount of supporters we've been taking from the idiot I wouldn't be surprised if she _did_ have it, or is about to get one," said Skull scratching his head. "Knowing her she'll target Fon and Verde, since she wouldn't be stupid enough to go after you or me. At least this time I _know_ about the political clout I have to keep her from pissing me off too much."

Blaise walked in with his copy of the year's list of books required.

"Have you _seen_ the defense book?"

"Spread the word among the Slytherins that I'm posting another bounty on the yearly sacrifice. And that they don't have to limit themselves to _just_ humiliating the sacrifice...they can permanently maim or give them a slow death if they want to get really creative so long as they don't get busted for it later."

"You really don't like this one. What gives?"

"Let's just say I have a score to settle with that pink-clad bitch and leave it at that. And I'll never consider it enough that Hermione lead the toad into a herd of very pissed off Centaurs and then basically offered her up as a sacrifice for them," said Skull darkly.

Viper winced at the implications alone, but then again she was a girl and knew damn well what Centaurs did to 'female prisoners'... especially if they had a reason to hate them.

Fon hugged her tighter.

"Actually..." said Skull after a moment, before a positively evil idea occurred to him.

"What are you planning now?"

"Who's up to recreating all those ridiculous horror movie cliches as a way to motivate the kiddies into actually studying and then watching that bitch of a toad suffer until we get bored and finally off her fat ass?"

Viper's eyes gleamed.

"Go on."

"Well I know Luna needs some practical experience and this is a great way to sound out how many morals she really has... though let's keep Hermione out of this until she's had a good taste of that bitch's ideas about first gens and agrees to look the other way at our antics."

"I'm sensing fun and a great way to de-stress from studying," said Blaise intently.

"Name one person who _hasn't_ wanted to play the big bad monster in the movie that has endless sequels, like Jason or Aliens," snorted Skull.

Fon's eyes gleamed. He wasn't the only one.

"I call dibs on Chucky!" said Verde.

"Well yeah, who else could possibly find a way to recreate that psycho doll?" said Skull.

"Dibs on Freddy and the Hellraiser ones," said Viper, already darkly gleeful.

"I call the vampires," said Fon.

"Why vampires?"

"Ever heard of a jaing-shi?" asked Fon, grinning wickedly.

"Oh man, you mean those things that are a cross between zombie and vampire?" said Skull. "In that case we might as well go for broke... Verde, can you remake the _Five Nights with Freddy_ animatronics?"

"Child's play," said Verde with a sniff.

"In that case I am _soooo_ doing Jason," cackled Skull. "And we could have Luna play Wednesday Addams!"

"I almost feel sorry for our yearly sacrifice," chuckled Blaise.

"But?" said Fon, grinning.

"But I've run into Umbridge before, and she has _views_ on people of mixed heritage, pure blood or not. She was not particularly impressed with my lineage or the fact my mother keeps remarrying, only for her husbands to end up mysteriously dead. I'd be careful if I were you, Fon. She's going to take the fact you're clearly foreign as an excuse to try and make your life hell," said Blaise.


End file.
